Out of Context
by lucy quinn fabray
Summary: Picks up after chapter nine of Inkheart. Meggie stumbles across the Harry Potter books the day after her father's kidnapping. HP: Deathly Hallows canon. Canon couples besides Neville/Luna. What happens when Capricorn sets his sights on a new villain to release from the pages of a book? SPOILERS from both stories.
1. A Chance Meeting

**_Author's Note:_**

This crossover will follow the events of_ Inkheart_. [Pairings: (HP: Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Neville/Luna. For now.)(INKHEART: Meggie/Farid, Mo/Resa, slight Dustfinger/Resa. For now.)]

And many more characters to appear! The italicized quotes are from _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_. _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling. And _Inkheart_ to Cornelia Funke! Enjoy! (:

Loligo7687

**_Author's Note _(9/26/11)_:_**

Will be editing as I go, and I will probably end up adding more to the beginning chapters. Rushed into the plot a little, may add details to lengthen the chapter. Nothing major to complain about, but I am conflicted on who to kill. Even if it's a temporary one. I don't really want it to be about deaths, but if I want to head in the direction I've been planning all along, I just may have to. xD The chapter I'm currently working on is the longest I've written, by far, and it doesn't want to type itself!

~Lucy

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Out of Context  
By: [Loligo7687] lucy quinn fabray

Chapter 1: A Chance Meeting

It was a bright and sunny Italian day at the house of Elinor Loredan, Meggie's great aunt. Meggie and Mo Folchart, her father, had come to her as a safe haven on the advice of the curious Dustfinger. But the feeling of safe had melted when Meggie had heard the voices in the library; the voices took with them her father, and she was as helpless as a newborn kitten. Elinor tried to reassure her that they would find Mo again, but Meggie wasn't listening. She didn't want to listen to the woman who had prevented her from saving her father two times by holding her back from the dreaded library and swapping _Inkheart_. He was in grave danger and Meggie had no idea how to save him.

Walking out of the kitchen after shoving down her breakfast, she immediately held _Inkheart_ to her chest as she looked for another book she could drown her misery in. Escaping from Elinor had been easy enough and getting lost in a book was no harder.

Meggie's eyes wandered around the assorted piles of books yet to be placed on a bookcase. None held her interest, so she moved on to the next bookcase she could see. This particular one had been hidden behind a large stack of books higher than herself. Removing the top ones carefully, her heart almost stopped when she read the titles lined next to each other. All seven _Harry Potter _books stood together as part of Elinor's collection. The last book had only been published recently, but Meggie had stayed up all night to finally see what would happen to Harry and Voldemort at last. Of course Harry had triumphed over evil, ridding the Wizarding World of fear spread by the Death Eaters. It had made her cry on multiple occasions, but she couldn't help but swell with happiness when Harry got his happy ending. But unfortunately for her, her own story wasn't looking too optimistic.

Taking _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_ off its shelf, Meggie did not care if Elinor yelled at her for snatching it without permission. It was slightly thicker and heavier than _Inkheart_, but all the same she juggled both books in her arms. Sneaking quietly past the kitchen, Meggie escaped to the bench in the backyard. A crab apple tree blossomed next to that bench, littering it with white and soft pink petals. Brushing a spot for herself, she began to inspect the foreign book.

Mo's handiwork was evident from the bound cover that hid the deadly title. She was almost afraid of opening it in case the words would hold a certain power over her. But more so, it reminded her of Mo's kidnapping. Tears sprang to Meggie's eyes as she placed _Inkheart_ on the seat next to her. Her head fell to her open palms, steadying it as she cried. Crying was useless she decided - tears would not bring her father back. But what would?

Meggie searched for the other book, which had fallen to the grass below. Picking it up quickly, she breathed a sigh in relief that it was not damaged. Her own copy was in perfect condition, but it had to be sacrificed for the quick move (it had been essentially futile, hadn't it?). Hopefully she could immerse herself in the book to forget her sorrows. Meggie decided to turn to one of her favorite parts in the whole book. Toward the end it was located; it was the part where Neville Longbottom greeted the trio in Aberforth's bar. Locating it in less than a minute, Meggie's heart started to pound against her chest. She was so proud of Neville and his transformation of character; it was why she loved that part.

Since she was alone, Meggie decided to read aloud to herself. The characters sounded much more real when a voice was placed behind them. Mo's voice she longed for; but he'd always insist that he shouldn't. His voice was beautiful and she had never understood why her father had never read to her. And so she began:

_But Neville had spotted Ron and Hermione, and with yells of delight was hugging them too. The longer Harry looked at Neville, the worse he appeared: One of his eyes were swollen yellow and purple, there were gouge marks on his face, and his general air of unkemptness suggested that he had been living rough. Nevertheless, his battered visage shone with happiness as he let go of Hermione and said again, "I knew you'd come! Kept telling Seamus it was a matter of time!"_

Meggie had not noticed that the birds keeping rhythm in the background had vanished all of the sudden. The words were virtually springing to life before her eyes, but she still took no notice. The birds were replaced by the four very characters she had been talking about in that chapter. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Neville Longbottom stood right in Elinor's backyard! Meggie had only looked when she heard Hermione's distinct voice yelling at Ron.

"Get off me, Ron!" Hermione said crossly, pushing him off of herself. Ron looked sorry enough, but only helped Hermione to her feet. The two of them were the only ones to become tangled on the ground. Neville and Harry stood next to each other, each expressing the same look of confusion. Only when Harry and Meggie's gaze met did four wands point at her. Protectively, she held the closed book against her chest.

"Who are you?" asked Harry, but Hermione's gasp distracted him.

"Look at Neville!" she exclaimed, causing the rest to turn. The injuries on his face had vanished and he looked like regular old Neville again.

"I'm Meggie Folchart," she replied coolly, bringing the attention back to her. Though completely shocked and afraid, Meggie kept her composure calm.

"Where are we?" asked Ron.

"In Italy," Meggie replied. "You're all from my book. I was just reading out loud when..."

"Accio _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_," said Harry, causing Meggie to frown as the book sailed away to Harry's hands. So their magic still worked in her world! The experience was still scary, but it was becoming better and better.

"Blimey, she's right!" exclaimed Neville, reading various pages. Meggie snatched it away before they flipped to the end.

"That's right!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

"So, we're not real?" asked Ron, looking astonished.

"Now you are, now that you're in my world. It's also about nine years in the future for you, in case you were wondering. Could you care to lower your wands, please?"

They obeyed reluctantly, but they felt no threat with Meggie. So now what? She had brought them out of their story - what was she supposed to do? An idea struck her quickly. Meggie would ask them to help find Mo in exchange to return to their rightful story. It had to work of course!

"Where are your parents?" asked Ron, knowing she looked no older than twelve.

"My mother went away when I was about three and my father recently got kidnapped," replied Meggie. Ron looked like he had just gotten slapped. To save his embarrassment, she continued with her bargain.

"If you promise to help me find Mo, I'll figure out a way to send you back to Hogwarts," she concluded, glancing at them expectantly.

The four turned away from her to discuss her deal, which was promising. Not even their magic could bring them back. In the meanwhile, Meggie had felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped when she saw the familiar face of Dustfinger.

"You've got Silvertongue's ability too? And _Inkheart_ as well," mused Dustfinger, pushing his shaggy hair out of his face. He held the book in his hand, letting Meggie snatch it away quickly.

"Where have you been?" Meggie exclaimed irately, her eyes narrowing angrily.

"Chasing after your father."

"What ability? How would you know?"

"Hasn't your father told you?" Dustfinger said, with a confused countenance.

Meggie held _Inkheart_ closer to her instinctively. "No, he hasn't."

"Well, it wouldn't be my place to tell you."

"We accept, Meggie," Harry announced, distracting her from her conversation with Dustfinger. She smiled for once since Mo's kidnapping.

"Do you know where they have taken him?" Meggie asked Dustfinger. He nodded.

"Yes, to Capricorn's village a little ways from here. I can take you there," Dustfinger replied, casting a glance at the new guests.

"Great! Let's tell Elinor," said Meggie, waving at the wizards and witch to follow them inside.

"Oh, and if there's anything I can do for you, just tell me," she added.

"Could you 'read' others here?" asked Neville, inquisitively. Meggie shrugged, not knowing the extent of her ability.

"Well, possibly…"

"If we brought Luna and Ginny here…"

Harry turned a little red. Two more helping hands wouldn't hurt, would it?

"Okay, after we tell Elinor. I have to think of proper passages, after all."

The passage she had read had certainly mentioned the following characters in her backyard. If only Dustfinger had told her, or even if Mo was here to tell her, since Dustfinger had told her that he knew. So long as she read passages containing the characters, they might fall into her world. Literally.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville followed Meggie and Dustfinger inside to the kitchen where Elinor was sipping her tea and reading the daily newspaper. She looked up at the sound of Meggie's voice and got much more than one surprise. Dustfinger had returned and four new strangers were standing in her kitchen. Elinor almost fainted when she recognized Harry by his scar.

"How did they get here?" asked Elinor in utter shock.

"I read them here," Meggie said, flatly. "Anyway, they are going to help us find Mo. Dustfinger knows where he is."

"Oh," Meggie added, pausing. "This is Elinor."

"Hullo," they greeted her politely. Meggie shook her head as her great aunt couldn't speak. "Let's go outside again," she added, leading them away from the adults.

"Make sure they don't touch my books!" they heard Elinor yell, but they clearly had no intention of ruining her books.

"Okay," said Meggie, grabbing their attention. "What passage would make sense to bring Luna back? Something really Luna-ish?"

"Malfoy Manor?" suggested Ron, but it was disagreed on.

"Shell Cottage?" suggested Harry, remembering that she was truly a good person at Dobby's funeral. Meggie nodded and proceeded to find the correct passed without hesitation. She read:

"_I think we ought to say something," piped up Luna. "I'll go first, shall I?"_

_And as everyone looked at her, she addressed the dead elf at the bottom of the grave._

"_Thank you so much, Dobby, for rescuing me from that cellar. It's so unfair that you had to die, when you were so good and brave. I'll always remember what you did for us. I hope you're happy now."_

Meggie loved this part as well. It was truly a reflection of Luna's ever likable character. At first nothing happened. The five of them sat in silence until a loud noise interrupted the scene and was accompanied by a bright flash. Two shutters from the house disappeared - Meggie didn't like them anyway. But why did two go away in exchange for one?

The answer was soon clear. Luna Lovegood stood with a dreamy smile on her face as a small elf swayed beside her. Was Dobby going to die again?

"Dobby had missed Harry Potter, sir!" said the excited elf, running over to hug his leg. Harry was relieved most of all, especially since he knew Dobby the elf had escaped death.

"Can you change death, Meggie?" asked Hermione, tearing up at the sight of Dobby. Again, Meggie was stumped.

"Nothing's in black or white I'm afraid. I don't know," she replied.

"Hello, everyone!" announced Luna, as if changing stories did not bother her. Neville filled her in with all the missing details. Luna didn't look fazed.

"Where's Ginny?" she asked, innocently enough.

Meggie wasn't sure if she could handle more than six of these characters. It just meant she had to send that many back. Yet, she wanted Harry to be happy with Ron's sister ever since they had broken up. Hopefully she could find a proper passage but for now, her tongue was tired.

"Later," Meggie said, closing the book. "In the meanwhile, think of parts with Ginny in it. I mean, what you remember. I have to figure out when we're leaving."

Elinor's rising voice escaped from the house, followed by a door slamming. Dustfinger trailed behind the angry woman with Gwin resting on his shoulder.

"We're taking the car," Elinor said, defeated.

"How are you going to fit nine people in a car?" challenged Meggie.

Hermione spoke before an argument could ensue. "Why don't we Apparate there?"

Ron vehemently disagreed. "No, I'll splinch myself," he said quickly.

"Don't be such a baby, Ron. You'll do fine. Let's see, Neville you can bring along Luna. Good heavens, Neville, it's not illegal now. Harry can bring Dustfinger, I can bring Elinor, and Ron can bring Meggie," she replied, in what seemed like one breath. Once it was somewhat agreed upon, Dustfinger drew a picture of the destination since Hermione had asked.

"Dobby, can you meet us there?" asked Harry, and the elf nodded.

In a blink of an eye, Dobby had Apparated. Now the rest need to, and Meggie was stuck with Ron. Not that she didn't like him; it was just that she wanted to make it to Capricorn's village in one piece. At the end of Hermione's countdown, Meggie closed her eyes reflexively as Ron held her arm firmly and proceeded with the spell. The feeling of being squeezed through a narrow tube was the very same feeling Meggie felt in the real world. Once the world stopped spinning, she held onto Ron to steady herself. Elinor and Dustfinger didn't fare much better, but they recovered just as quickly.

As Dustfinger's picture had described, the ominous bridge looked scary in the twilight hours. Though Apparition took less than a second, it seemed like Meggie's world had fast forwarded ahead. The rules were not clear - but everyone had made it safely.

Elinor handed Meggie a bag with enough room for two books. "I wouldn't like to see _Inkheart _fall into the wrong hands," she said, and that was all.

Dustfinger pulled the barrier away from the entrance of the bridge.

"Capricorn doesn't like visitors much as you can tell," said Dustfinger.

"How would you know?" snapped Meggie, following behind Neville and Luna.

"I've had the misfortune to visit him more than once," he replied.

Harry quietly walked alongside Meggie. Ron and Hermione walked beside each other behind them, followed by Elinor and Dustfinger (who had replaced the barrier after they all had passed).

"I wonder where Dobby is," said Luna, dreamily. Harry didn't even hear her, as most of the group had not realized that Dobby had been missing.

"So, Meggie," started Harry, causing her to tear her gaze away from the books in her arms. "If you can bring Dobby back from the dead, could you, ah, bring my parents back?"

Harry's beautiful green eyes were filled with sadness and longing; something pulled her in the two separate answers. Yes, so Harry could truly be happy and see his parents. Yet no, because something else told her to not mess with the dead.


	2. Conversations in the Dark

**_Author's Note:_**

I gave in before completing my other story. Well, good news for you! This chapter slows down the story a tad, giving each character a voice. Even another character from Harry Potter 'drops' in! Some of the conversations are loosely based on the ones in _Inkheart _and the italicized quote is from _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_. Enjoy!

_**(11/17/12):**_

This chapter was lengthened and edited! The interactions need a bit of oomph, especially when these strangers are at a loss at what to do in this strange world. Other than to follow Meggie to help solve their problem, of course. xD

~Lucy

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Chapter 2: Conversations in the Dark

The barrier made a dull thudding noise when Dustfinger dropped it down, but Elinor thought it was loud enough to wake the dead. Though she longed to point it out, she decided against it. All they had to do was rescue Mortimer and her life could resume back to normal. It was all that simple. If she started a petty argument with Dustfinger, it might hinder the mission.

Meggie and the wizards had already branched off into pairs, leaving her to wait up for the fire tamer. It was in her best interest, considering that Dustfinger knew the way. Even though he wasn't leading, Elinor hoped that he'd warn the kids before they reached the actual village.

"Again, why is the barrier there?" Elinor asked, perforating the silence. Dustfinger merely sighed. "Well?"

She was going to repeat herself, but he finally spoke up. "He wants to keep unwanted guests from trespassing. Not that many people make it here, considering the stories Capricorn likes to spread," he replied.

"What kind of stories?"

"Terrible stories. The kind that would make you scream in the night."

"Oh, how terrible indeed!"

Dustfinger snorted. Ignorance would be the downfall of the old woman. Though the tales were false, obviously, Capricorn was still a force to be reckoned with. She had no idea what was coming by walking straight into the heart of darkness.

"What was that for?" Elinor asked, annoyed.

"You haven't heard the stories then. Some say that the men that live in the village can walk through walls and that no bullet can pierce their breasts," Dustfinger said, very nonchalantly. "They flit between corporeal and the ethereal, not able to be sated from this world."

"Sounds like an expertly crafted ghost story," Elinor replied, shaking her head. "Ghosts aren't real. They are fictitious, false beings."

"Maybe so. The people around here are highly superstitious. They'll believe anything, practically. Contradictory to that fact, Basta is the only superstitious one in the village. Capricorn rewards those who come up with new stories and obviously Basta stays out of that."

"That's so silly. Basta? I'm sure he avoids black cats and ladders too."

Dustfinger only nodded. Being distracted by Gwin chattering in his backpack, he seemed to ignore the fact that Elinor was walking beside him. He held a finger to his lips, which did the trick to quiet the marten. Whether the marten truly obeyed the fire tamer or realized that he was in dangerous territory, Gwin became silent and buried himself back into the backpack. Dustfinger and Elinor continued on in the darkness, slightly comforted with the fact that they saw silhouettes up ahead.

"Who lives up in the village?"

"You ask a lot of questions, you know."

"Just answer it, please."

Dustfinger just grinned at her reply. "Capricorn and his men do. Oh, and the women that cook and clean," he replied.

"I like this Capricorn already!" Elinor exclaimed sarcastically, throwing her arms up in the air.

Dustfinger chuckled, causing Elinor to shoot him a disgusted look.

"What? Do you think the men would be responsible for their laundry and meals?"

"Yes, in fact, it's part of their responsibility. This is the twenty-first century, after all."

"Time is inconsequential. It hardly passes there."

"And how would _you_ know?"

He shrugged. "Because it retains some familiarly," he said, vaguely.

Elinor couldn't contain her utter disgust. First ghost stories, then medieval gender roles, and now the fleeting truth! How on Earth had she gotten herself into this mess? But she didn't have time to reflect, as a commotion up ahead caught her attention. Her look of disgust had suddenly deflated; it turned to one of horror. Dustfinger had spotted the trouble as well.

"Are there guards?" asked Elinor, worriedly.

"Patrols, but seeing as you know that Silvertongue is here…" said Dustfinger, picking up the pace.

Elinor had no choice but to follow. This was not good by any stretch of the imagination.

-x-

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger had not bothered to wait for the older pair, leaving a wide margin of room between them. Harry and Meggie were not that far ahead, but it left them enough space to have their own conversation.

"I can't believe Harry convinced us to stay! We're going to get killed_ here_, never mind in our _own_ story!" Ron complained, balling up his fists up by his side.

"Oh, hush. We're not going to get killed. After all, we can't get back on our own. The sooner we help, the sooner we get back to Hogwarts," said Hermione, reasonably.

"This is so stupid. I've had enough of this kidnapping prattle. I want to go home."

"Do you have to be so selfish?"

"I'm_ not_ selfish!"

"Yes, you clearly _are_!"

Ron and Hermione fumed by themselves in silence. Even in this world, their arguments were bitter and silly. It also didn't help that the events of their own story were still fresh in their minds. Hermione sighed, knowing that fighting now would not help them in the slightest.

"Look, Ron, I'm just stressed out. I haven't forgotten about what you did at Malfoy Manor," she said, finding his hand and squeezing it gently before letting go. Even though she had been unconscious temporarily, Hermione had heard the tale being told at Shell Cottage.

Ron was glad that it had grown dark enough that the red burning on the tips of his ears was not visible to her. Thank Merlin.

"Oh, well, thanks," he murmured, pretending that her gesture had not caused him any embarrassment.

Her perception was keen and she understood. "There is nothing we can do now, Ron. There is no spell to get us back right away. If there's even the _slightest_ chance that helping Meggie will send us back, then we should do it."

He had no quibble for her logic. After a brief silence, Ron again decided to bring up their story. This time, however, it would be a more positive spin. "To think positively, Hermione, I guess it actually lets us breathe for once. No more Snatchers or You-Know-Who," he said.

"Voldemort, you mean?" Hermione corrected him. She was sure that there was not a taboo in this world. Ron jumped at her response and glanced around quickly. No Voldemort. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, of course," he said, without missing a beat. "Doesn't it feel so nice to be safe?"

Hermione nodded. It did feel nice to be safe and without worry for her best friends. This world seemed much more peaceful.

"It does," replied Hermione smiling.

Walking along the bridge, which seemed endless, Ron and Hermione enjoyed the silence between them. It conveyed a message much stronger than words; it was actually a bonding moment for them. Ron had summed up the courage to reach for Hermione's hand and hold it. She didn't resist and instead intertwined her fingers with his in this tender moment between the two.

"I'm so sorry," he blurted out, unexpectedly.

"What?" Hermione asked, startled. "Sorry for what?"

Ron was still coping with his emotions. Between what the locket had done to exacerbate his irritability (and jealousy, obviously) and his frustration of not being able to convey to his best friend how he felt, it was a heavy burden upon him. Four words did nothing. Three words would release it.

"Hermione, I can't..."

She squeezed his hand. "You don't have to say anything more."

This moment was short-lived, however. There was a sudden stir of activity up ahead, most likely where Neville and Luna were. Exchanging similar looks, Hermione immediately took the lead. They caught up to Harry and Meggie, who had stopped beside Neville and Luna. Hermione saw Meggie slip both books into the bag Elinor had given her after they had arrived at the bridge. _Smart thinking_ she thought. Dustfinger had pushed past all of them, causing Hermione to squeeze tightly on Ron's hand.

She didn't feel so safe anymore.

-x-

"Possibly, Harry. Again, I have no idea how this even works. Well, I guess a little. We would have to take a chance," Meggie said, shaking her head sadly. "A big chance. I'm talking _very_ big."

"Why would we have to take a chance?" Harry asked.

"In the book I have, they aren't the right age," Meggie replied, avoiding to spoil his own story.

Harry sighed. It made her feel disheartened, even though he had a very happy ending without them. Meggie couldn't say anything, or she might accidentally and singlehandedly destroy Hogwarts. Tempting as it was, Meggie bit her lower lip to distract herself from blurting out his happy ending.

Meggie wished that someone could explain why this Capricorn wanted _Inkheart_ and Mo, and why reading out loud brought characters to life. At that moment, Meggie missed Mo most. Much like Harry, she was without parental guidance.

"You know, Harry, I don't disagree with your decision to break up with Ginny," said Meggie, changing the subject quickly.

His features softened. "Really? I've always sort of regretted it. Especially since Ron has condemned me for it," he replied, at last.

"Sometimes it's necessary to protect the ones you love most. Ginny will understand. She may have a fiery temper, but she'll come to terms with it."

"It's just… I had her,_ finally_, but just as quickly, I lost her. I still love Ginny, but I'm not so sure if she still loves me back."

"Well, why don't we ask her?"

A smile spread over her features, causing her to place Harry's story on top of _Inkheart_. Cracking open the book, Meggie discovered that it was difficult to see in the limited lighting.

In an effort to please Harry, Meggie had forgotten her hesitance toward reading aloud. She had no qualms about reading Ginny out, even though she had refused (politely) to do the same with his parents. What justified her actions? Nothing. Meggie would be responsible for the fate of another Harry Potter character. Arguably, she was among the most important people in the protagonist's life, the one walking beside her, and bringing her here would certainly complicate things. But their fate held no consequences to her at this current moment, so she proceeded to read without hesitance.

"Can you use _Lumos_ so I can read the book?" asked Meggie, promptly giving up on her own. Harry nodded, unearthing Draco Malfoy's wand - the disarmed one that made Harry the true master of the Elder Wand. Eerie. How strange it was to see such an important item ultimately help defeat Voldemort! That _would_ defeat him, eventually. With a quick flourish and utterance of _Lumos,_ the surrounding area was illuminating with an eerie green glow. Meggie was now able to successfully see the words on the pages. The hard part was finding the right ones while continuing to walk forward.

Harry looked on. "Find a passage with Ginny in it?"

Meggie shook her head, knowing that the Ginny in the beginning and at the end were very different. "Not yet, but I have an idea," she replied, flipping quickly toward the end of the novel.

"What's your idea?"

"Pre-battle Ginny would work and she wouldn't give too much away."

"Why don't you want her to tell us about the future?"

"I feel like it would ruin the story - you might try to change it, even though it's written another way."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Things happen for a reason. That's what I believe. Fate is something you shouldn't mess with, Harry."

"So, you're saying that fate brought us together?"

Meggie couldn't help but to blush at the innocent question that Harry has asked. Even Harry had coughed to dissipate the awkward comment.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying," replied Meggie, mustering a grin.

She located the passage soon after, which turned out to be ill-fated indeed. The timing and consequences could not be any worse. Reading as she walked alongside Harry, she saw no danger ahead. Meggie read:

"_I can't go home!" Ginny shouted, angry tears sparkling in her eyes. "My whole family's here, I can't stand waiting there alone and not knowing and -"_

…_she turned away bitterly._

"_Fine," she said, staring at the entrance to the tunnel back to the Hog's Head. "I'll say good-bye now, then, and -" _

Editing it in the middle, Meggie figured it wouldn't be good to mention how bitter she looked at Harry when he agreed with Mrs. Weasley that she should go home. It also wasn't that good that Meggie had botched the last few words because she had bumped into Neville. Gasping, she had hoped it was long enough. There seemed to be nothing missing, but Meggie could not see that Luna's wand had disappeared into the night.

Harry's wand illuminated the source of trouble; the figure was that of a man. Meggie slowly took the books in her arms and placed them in Elinor's bag, which was rather convenient. They needed to be safe. The man in front of them looked menacing. He would be the sort to burn books, rather than enjoy their contents.

An expression of concern crossed his face. "Dobby!" Harry exclaimed.

-x-

This had been the first time in many months that Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood had seen each other. Luna's disappearance and kidnapping had saddened him, especially since she was an important part of their trio. Ginny and Neville had to continue Dumbledore's Army without her. But now that she was safe and out of harm's way, he was simply elated.

"I missed you, Luna," said Neville, watching with intrigue as she skipped and twirled ahead of him.

"I missed you as well," she replied, smiling. "I had hoped to return to Hogwarts as soon as possible."

Neville always admired the way she thought positively and never cared about what others had thought about her. It was safe to say that he looked up to Luna. _She's a wonderful role model_ he thought.

"I hope to return as well. I can't imagine what's happening without us," replied Neville, shaking his head.

"Can't imagine much is going on. The Dark Mark hasn't been raised, has it?" Luna said.

"No, thankfully not."

"We've got time then. Everyone should be safe until we get back. They're resilient."

Neville felt reassured at her words, but almost fainted when she gasped loudly. Was she okay?

"What's wrong, Luna?" he asked.

"I can't find my wand anywhere. I suspect that the Nargles took it. They're everywhere, you know!"

"Are you sure? Did you check behind your ear?"

Catching up to Luna in the meantime, Neville was now facing her.

"Well, no."

On impulse, Neville took his hand and gently pushed the hair away from her ear. There was no wand tucked behind it, but she was far less concerned about it at this moment. Sort of.

"You see, Neville, it's Nargles."

"I guess you're right."

Whether Nargles really existed or not, Neville didn't care. His stomach consisted of butterflies whenever he was around Luna and she was exceptionally beautiful. He hadn't ever said it out loud, but he was shy about his feelings. Maybe a compliment would work instead.

Neville didn't get the chance, however. Luna had emitted a small shriek of surprise, causing him to jerk his head forward. It was dark, but there was enough light to see a hulking silhouette looming ahead of them. Someone had bumped into him, causing him to naturally look behind himself.

"Sorry," Meggie apologized, her expression turning to horror when she gazed forward.

Everyone had caught up by the time Harry had shone his illuminated wand at the man. An unconscious Dobby was lying beside him and he sported a knife on his belt. A flashlight was held in one hand while a shotgun in the other pointed straight at Luna. Neville instinctively stepped in front of her while the man laughed menacingly.

"Trespassing on private property at night? Tsk. I could have mistaken you for animals with all the chattering," he said, stepping under a nearby lamplight. The lighting was poor along the walkway, but the man's sharp grin cut through the darkness.

"Basta, please," said Dustfinger, making his way to the front.

"If it isn't Dustfinger! Must you turn up in the night like this?" Basta replied, lowering his shotgun. Dustfinger approached him so they could converse without the others listening.

"I don't like this at all," said Elinor, to no one in particular.

Meggie was completely confused. Why was Dustfinger on good terms with this 'Basta' character? And why was it implied that he had been here numerous amounts of time?

"What did you do to Dobby?" blurted Harry, effectively stopping the private conversation.

"It has a _name_? I merely knocked 'Dobby' out. The little bugger freaked me out," Basta said, grinning. As much as they hated the man, they couldn't harm Basta because of a few ill words.

"Come along, now. We don't want any harm to befall any of you, right?" Basta laughed. Though, he should have known that magic could persuade more than a gun or knife. However, a loud noise interrupted Basta's laugh, causing him to point his gun at the source. The bushes crackled under the weight of something in the shallow woods.

"Come out, whoever you are! I _will_ shoot!" he warned, casting a quick glance at Dustfinger.

A girl around Luna's age emerged from the woods with leaves stuck in her long, red hair. The lighting revealed her freckled face and bold, brown eyes. Meggie instantly recognized her.

"Ginny," Harry breathed with relief. Ron spoke with a more emphatic exclamation of his sister's name.

She came forward, slightly put off by Basta's gun.

"You know her?" Basta asked.

"Of course we do. She's my sister, after all," Ron piped up. Lowering his gun, Basta let Ginny join the group with wary reluctance.

"Are you okay, Ginny?" asked Harry, plucking the leaves out of her hair. Ginny opened her mouth to speak, but the words would not come. Dustfinger knew right away and avoided all eye contact. Basta was simply amused.

"She can't speak!" exclaimed Luna, relatively unfazed.

"Now _that's_ a first," said Ron, earning a sharp jab in the ribs from Hermione's elbow. "I mean, how awful!"

"Just like one of the maids!" exclaimed Basta, his eyes lighting up with realization. "How wonderful! I think I've solved a little mystery!" he added, looking at Meggie exclusively.

"What?" said Meggie, shifting uncomfortably. She pursed her lips to make it seem like she was braver than she really was.

"The way her lips close! Reminds me of old Silvertongue - the daughter of him, imagine! It apparently runs in the family, huh?" he continued, grinning.

Dustfinger shook his head. "This is mere coincidence, Basta. Darius has nothing -"

"Shut up, Dustfinger. We'll see what Capricorn has to say!"


	3. Into the Heart of Darkness

**_Author's Note:_**

Again, some of the dialogue is based on the dialogue in _Inkheart_, and others are directly from the chapters. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3: Into the Heart of Darkness

Basta led the group of nine up the winding, stony path to Capricorn's village. With no choice, since the man had vicious dogs and a gun at his disposal, the wizards were forced to conceal the fact that they could do magic. Even though they could render Basta unconscious with one flick of a wand, Meggie could understand their fear. Unfamiliar with guns in this world, they would not risk the chance of being shot or whatever they thought would happen.

Dropping back to walk along with her great aunt, Meggie was having a hard time preventing herself from tripping all the way up to the village. Every so often, her foot would catch an elevated rock on the path, nearly sending her face forward. With cat-like reflexes, Elinor caught her every time. Surprised that the old woman was much more agile than she gave her credit for, Meggie mumbled a small thanks each time. Silence plagued the pair, and she was regretting ever leaving Harry's side. Yet, she wasn't about to make things worse for him considering the fact that Ginny could no longer speak. It was her fault. Why did she have this strange ability? Why couldn't Dustfinger just tell her?

Basta and Dustfinger were talking in hushed whispers the entire time, making Meggie wish that she could inch closer and closer to eavesdrop. It might actually benefit her, since the two apparently knew what this ability of hers was. How was she like Mo, besides the obvious? Still, the name Silvertongue puzzled her so. Meggie referred to him by one name and one name only: it was always Mo. Now her world was shaken, and not just by the fact that she could physically talk to her favorite Harry Potter characters.

The two-story house that Capricorn and whatever company lived in was centered in the village, surrounded by old buildings that seemed either desolated or barely inhabited. Many of the men probably lived in these houses Meggie thought, noticing that some of the nicer buildings' doors were slightly ajar. The chatter of the wizards made the silence disappear, thankfully, since she was on the verge of yelling at Dustfinger. The conversations also compelled her to hold her tongue. Meggie did not need to get all of them in even more trouble.

More of Capricorn's men stood at the entrance of the house, eyeing both Basta and Dustfinger carefully. One had a relatively flat looking nose, whether by chance or heredity. This one spoke loudly and guffawed at the sight of the entire group.

"Look at what the cat dragged in! Or should I say fire tamer?" the man said, grinning widely. "I thought Capricorn told you --"

"Never mind about that, Flatnose," Dustfinger interrupted him, glancing warily back at Meggie. "I expect that he's been warned of visitors?"

"As a matter of fact, I'm supposed to accompany you all in. Not that I was expecting a large group, but the more the merrier they say."

Meggie stared back at Dustfinger, as if waiting for the fire tamer to crack. However, he merely averted his eyes to avoid answering any questions. The wizards fell silent as they traveled through the various corridors to reach the main common area, being led by Basta and Flatnose. Luxurious tapestries lined the walls and the floors were much smoother than the outside path. Overall, it was not like she had expected. The houses in the village were dark and dirty, but Capricorn had decorated his like a palace. Whoever he was, he had champagne taste.

Now, as her imagination was deceiving, she had pictured a rather ugly looking villain. Voldemort was not that appeasing to the eyes (from the depiction in the books) and Harry could probably support that. Capricorn was supposed to look like a brute; unkempt and unshaved with sharp pointed features. His eyes would be dark and sullen, while his mouth stayed in a perfect smirk. The villain was supposed to look evil and give Meggie another reason to hate him, but alas he was quite the opposite of her initial thoughts. This Capricorn wore a long, red gown that seemed to accentuate his tall physique. His head was nearly shaved and his eyes were as pale as his skin. When he looked up to see who had disturbed the peace, Meggie could have sworn they grew to twice their size.

"Pardon, but I thought you might want to see the visitors you were expecting," said Basta, nodding curtly. "Then again, it might be wise to disarm them."

Faster than Capricorn could snap, his men had paired with the wizards, Meggie, and Elinor. Knives flashed against bare skin before the wizards had time to react, and soon they were defeated. However, Elinor would not be defeated so easily.

"This is totally barbaric! Holding a knife to the children's throats! Imagine!" Elinor said sharply, struggling under the grip of Basta. Capricorn blinked in rapid succession, as if her words had stunned him. However, he ignored her for the time being. There was only one thing he wanted now, and everything else would have to wait.

"Where is it?" he asked, in his impressive voice. It was surprisingly smooth and she instantly hated it.

"Where's my father?" Meggie demanded, pushing through the wizards toward Capricorn. Dustfinger caught her by the arm, giving her a look to silence her tongue. Basta demanded for the wizards to surrender their weapons in the meantime (he had noticed Harry's illuminated wand back on the path), and the five wizards had obliged reluctantly. Luna had lost hers and therefore had nothing to give, so a knife stayed at her throat for precaution.

Capricorn's eyes flashed angrily at Meggie's outburst. Dustfinger calmly interceded, but continued to prove that he had betrayed both Mo and Meggie. "It's in her bag. You'll see. Her father didn't know that it was the wrong book. The woman switched it without his knowledge, and they're friends apparently. Her house is a library, and sometimes I think she likes her books rather than company," he said, feeling much better about the whole situation.

The villain didn't reply. A curt nod followed for acknowledgement, and Capricorn's pale eyes finally settled on Meggie again. "How old is she?" he asked, as if she didn't know herself.

"I'm twelve!" Meggie said angrily, shaking Dustfinger's grip. "I want to know where my father is!"

Again, Capricorn ignored her demanding. She really did hate him. "A few more years and she'll be suitable around here. She's far too skinny, but that can be remedied. But…" he said, starting to trail off. Capricorn loosened his grip on her arm, and his gaze now flickered to the wizards.

"You three," said Capricorn sharply, motioning toward the three witches. His men brought them forward. "Ages, if you will tell me kindly."

"Seventeen," replied Hermione, and Meggie was jealous of her courage. She'd give anything to be in the Gryffindor House.

"Sixteen and she's sixteen as well," Luna said in turn, speaking for the mute Ginny. Capricorn looked on with curiosity.

"She can't speak?"

"She cannot."

Basta joined the conversation. "Silvertongue's daughter must have the --"

Raising his hand, Capricorn silenced the man. "Send them to the kitchen and have the other maids inform them of their duties. Harry, Neville, and Ron naturally protested, but the men had their knives brandished again. Hermione, Luna, and Ginny struggled but the men were too strong. Meggie merely hung her head in shame. She was failing them.

"I don't know what you intend to do with this silly book, and not that I really care either, but we're willingly to give it to you for her father. As much as it will break my heart to give it up, we just want her father back," Elinor interrupted, but Capricorn merely turned his back.

"Why did you bring this insolent woman again? I just wanted the girl and the book," said Capricorn, and Meggie now felt the sting of betrayal. That was why Dustfinger knew the way -- he knew everything because he was in the scheme with this villain. Meggie was trapped in this miserable horror story over a book.

"Listen, the woman wasn't staying behind. She made it very clear that she was coming and could not be persuaded otherwise," Dustfinger replied, shaking his head.

"Hah! Wasn't I right? I knew it. He only wanted the book. I should have called the police while I had the chance to," Elinor said to Meggie, struggling against Basta once more. Dustfinger was looking everywhere else, except at her face. Pretending like nothing had happened (like betrayal, try that), he was distracting himself with the candle on one of the side tables.

Before Meggie had time to run with the book, Capricorn had snatched the bag and pulled out both _Inkheart_ and _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_. A smile rose when he saw _Inkheart_, but then a puzzled countenance crossed when he laid eyes on the Harry Potter book. Flipping through, he saw an illustration. As if he had an epiphany, he looked straight at the wizard with glasses. "You're from here, aren't you?" Capricorn said, holding the book up. "We're not so different, I suppose. I'll be confiscating this for now."

Harry looked equally as puzzled as Meggie. Then again, his world was being shaken as well. His best friends and love interest was recently whisked away, Dobby had been dragged away, and now this Capricorn was taking his book? This was too much, and he wished he had his wand back to save them all from this predicament.

"They know nothing?" Capricorn presumed.

"Nothing," said Dustfinger, more softly.

"Good. Send them around back, Basta," instructed Capricorn, cradling both books all the while. Basta pushed Elinor away, pulling Meggie along by the back of her neck.

"Where's my father? We gave you the book! What more do you want?" Meggie cried out, trying to squirm away from Basta's calloused grip.

"Silly girl. Isn't it obvious that I want to keep him here? You see, he has an extraordinary talent that he refuses to use. Now that you're here, I'm sure he can be persuaded," Capricorn replied, with a wicked smile. "Take them away, please."

"Hey! Watch where you point that bloody thing!" Ron said, jumping as the point dug into his shoulder. "We're going, we're going!"

The wizards had departed without a fight, but Meggie needed to be dragged out because she was so angry. Her anger turned to Dustfinger, who now had the courage to look her in the eye. He wanted her to understand, but she felt no remorse for the next words out of her mouth.

"I hate you! I hope you burn to death!" Meggie shrieked, and Basta laughed at her audacity. Chiding her lightly, he managed to get Elinor and Meggie out of Capricorn's house.

Dustfinger sat stone cold at the table. He hadn't meant to betray her -- well, it was intentional -- but he didn't realize how much it could hurt. It hurt worse than the scars from Basta's knife. Capricorn had no sympathy for him. He mocked him at the most.

"Poor Dustfinger, you've gone and upset Silvertongue's daughter now," he mocked him, looking more curiously at the Harry Potter book. "And I wonder how that boy got out of here…"

"I wouldn't know," said Dustfinger, shrugging. This, however, caused Capricorn to second think himself.

"Silvertongue and Darius obviously hadn't had access to the book… how could I have ever missed that? Silvertongue's daughter has the ability as well! Of course, it all makes sense. Let's see how long we can hold out this secret, shall we? In the meantime, I shall investigate this story of his," Capricorn replied, with his wicked smile.

Dustfinger shook his head sadly. _It wasn't going to end well…_

Basta was directing the prisoners to the cages as he had so called them, which was probably the equivalent of a jail cell. The smell of rubbish and gasoline mixed together in the air, which would probably linger on their clothes and hair for days to come. It wasn't a true cage, thankfully, but it was not inviting in the least. Basta pushed them into door number four. Well, what looked like a number four. It was still very dark. Elinor was continuing to swear, in the same fashion as Ron.

"This is the twenty-first century! You don't go pushing people around with guns!" Elinor complained, but Basta had locked the door and left laughing. "Isn't there a bloody light bulb in here? Damn! I can't believe what's happening!"

"Exactly my bloody point," Ron said, helping the ongoing search for a light bulb.

"Elinor?" said a voice, a little hesitantly.

"Mo?" asked Meggie, hesitantly as well.

"Oh no! Not you too! What are you two doing here?" said Mo angrily, although he held Meggie to him tightly. Meggie didn't mind at all, because she knew he was only angry that they had fallen into Dustfinger's trap. She pressed her face into his side and felt better at last. Now that the Harry Potter characters had somewhat held up their end of the bargain, it had just become more difficult for all of them. Rescuing the witches was necessary, as well as Dobby.

"Found it!" Ron called out happily, pulling the string to illuminate the room. Elinor looked grateful for a second before turning on Mo. As far as the teenagers were concerned, they didn't need to listen to an argument that did not include them. Instead, they formed their own conversation.

"We held up our side of the bargain!" said Ron, in a hushed tone.

"Well, not really," said Harry, shaking his head. "We didn't escape. Neither do we have the girls, our wands, or Dobby. That makes us pretty unsuccessful."

"Says the Gryffindor," replied Ron.

"Then what are you? A bloody coward?" retorted Harry.

"I resent that!"

"Hey!" said Neville, causing both of them to stop arguing. "The only way we're going to fix things is to come up with a plan."

"What do you propose then, Neville?" asked Ron, frowning.

"I don't know, honestly. I've never been much help there," he admitted.

"Bloody great."

The lull of Mo's story filled in the gap between their conversations, but they were growing tired as it was. Harry yawned.

"How did Sirius escape? Us from Malfoy Manor?" he said, yawning again.

"That was different, Harry," said Ron, shaking his head. "These guys have guns or whatever you call them. Those are scarier than anything I've ever seen."

"Actually, when Hermione or Ginny are mad, that's one scary sight," imputed Neville, causing the other two to laugh softly.

"I suppose you're right. But still, I don't see how we can escape."

"I think if we have outside help, that'll work."

Harry blinked. Neville was absolutely right!

"That's brilliant! The girls are outside of here! They can help us, and we can help them!" Harry exclaimed.

"Then again, not to be the spoilsport, but how will we get Dobby or our wands? We don't know where they are!" Ron complained.

"One thing at a time, Ron," said Harry. "We'll get through this."

"We better bloody do so. I'm hungry," he pouted.

"Just go to bed!"

This startled Mo, who had up until this point had been telling his story. He had forgotten that three boys had filed in behind Elinor and Meggie, and was wondering what their purpose was here.

"Remember my Harry Potter books? That's Harry, Ron, and Neville," Meggie said sleepily, noticing that her father was now staring at them. "They're nice. They wanted to help."

Meggie curled up in Mo's bed, or what you could kind of call a bed, and drifted off to sleep with the security that her father was here to watch over her. And despite the conversations that followed, she did not wake up until the next morning.

"I'm Harry, and this is Ron and Neville," Harry said, introducing the other two.

"So, you're magicians?" asked Mo, quite unsure of himself.

"They're wizards, Mortimer! Everyone knows that!" Elinor cried out, despite the fact that Meggie was trying to sleep.

"We got our wands taken away, so I'm afraid we can't do much right now," added Ron, sullenly.

"Our friends were also sent to work as maids apparently, so we have to save them too," Neville also added, to clarify things a bit more. "They can do magic too."

"Meggie read you out?" asked Mo.

"Yeah. She also read Luna, Dobby, and Ginny out. As if on cue, too," said Harry.

"Well, I'm sorry for all the trouble, but I hope we can figure out a way to send you all back," Mo said, shaking his head sadly.

"What!? You don't know how to send us back?" Ron said, alarmed.

"Not yet, I'm afraid. You know Dustfinger? He's been asking me to send him back into_ Inkheart_, but I really don't know. It's only worked one way for me. There must be another way too."

"Maybe we just need to sleep on it."

"Elinor and I are going to keep a lookout, so you all rest," Mo said at last.

"Thank you," said Harry, and the three wizards tried to find a comfy spot on the floor. Ron tried hard not to complain and cause a similar scene from his own story. Sometimes it was hard adjusting to change. It was certainly a change to have no wands for once. Then again, they weren't at Hogwarts anymore.

The three fell asleep soon enough and they were under the care of Elinor and Mo for now. Sometimes, it was better off to leave the big issues to adults. There was a certain comfort it brought to children, as if the worries would disappear entirely. That alone kept the teenagers and Meggie sleeping comfortably.

However, Hermione, Luna, and Ginny weren't having the same comfort. The older maids would yell and direct the girls around like little cows (stupid and stubborn, apparently). Hermione was on the verge of tears so Luna and Ginny comforted her as best as possible.

Luna did all the speaking, of course. It was what she would have thought Ginny would say. "It's okay, Hermione. We'll figure out a way to escape," she said, nodding.

"We don't even have our wands! It's nearly impossible!" Hermione said, becoming more and more distressed.

"Well, you're from a Muggle family, aren't you? You've done things without wands, haven't you?" replied Luna.

"Well, yes. Perhaps I could think of something…"

"See? It'll work out. Though, maybe I can capture a Nargle to help us. They like dirty, dark corners you know."

That brought a smile to Hermione's lips, though ordinarily she would have refused Luna's remark. With that sort of peace of mind, Hermione felt the wave of sleep fall over her. "Goodnight the two of you," she said, and curled up into her bed. Luna and Ginny left to go to their own beds, with hope that they'd be reunited with the wizards once more.

They were sort of right.


	4. Burning Bridges

**_Author's Note:_**

It's been awhile! But I wrote a longer chapter this time around, so I hope it was worth the wait!

I still am deciding on what will occur in the future, which may entail a switch in worlds. ;D  
Depending on which characters appear toward the end, I'll make it that way. And so it's at least 20 chapters long. That's my goal.

As always, I used some quotes or paraphrased them from _Inkheart_, because they were too amazing not to exclude. So enjoy, and sorry again about the long hiatus! (:

Loligo7687

* * *

Chapter 4 – Burning Bridges

Ron was the first to notice that the only light source in the cramped prison room went out sometime during the night. A loud audible groan came next, waking Harry. Both had been sleeping lightly, since the girls had been on their minds all night. Wandless, essentially powerless, Ron and Harry knew that they'd need a miracle.

"Sorry, mate," Ron whispered. "I can't sleep."

"I can't either," Harry replied. "We have a whole day to hatch a plan though."

"Maybe they'll let us out."

"Hopefully."

A shadowy figure passed them in the dark, heading for the other figures near the door. They weren't the only ones filled with worry.

"We might as well get as much sleep as possible," Harry said, sighing.

"Yeah, yeah," Ron replied, lying down. "Good morning."

How sad that truth was!

Within hours, the sun peeked through the cracks of the door. Meggie was relieved most of all. Well, until two of Capricorn's men rudely opened the door and shouted.

"Get up now, you lot," said the one Meggie recognized. Indeed, his nose looked as if someone had pressed it flat against his face -- Flatnose. The shorter man beside him was unfamiliar to her. He twirled his gun around boredly.

"We can't wait for you to mill around," the man snapped, pushing Neville out of the room with the butt of his gun. The light hurt Meggie's eyes at first, but grew accustomed quickly as they walked blindly to whatever destination they were taking them.

It was a nicer day than it had been yesterday. It wasn't as sticky or hot, just warm enough that Meggie could enjoy it in her short-sleeved t-shirt. There was not a cloud in the sky, ironically enough. This story kept getting drearier and drearier by the minute. Rain would have matched the mood quite nicely. Elinor was continuing to swear at the men, however much more discreetly because Mo was shooting her looks to quit it. She hadn't ever heard such swears in her life, and probably would have embarrassed Ron Weasley.

Meggie had a lot more problems to worry about. Escaping was one. She also had to reunite the female Harry Potter characters with the male ones, which would prove difficult without their wands. After that, she had to find a way to send them all back. It was madness! Each time she was trying to help, it just backfired. Sending Harry Potter characters into her world was easy; she already had a list she'd like to meet. But if she could recover the books from Elinor's library, she might be able to enlist the help of other wizards to take down Capricorn.

The men, Flatnose and the limping man, led them down the same path from where they exited Capricorn's house the previous night. By day the houses and buildings looked deserted as well, and Meggie didn't have to stumble around on the unlevel ground. The only noticeable difference was the cats that prowled around the emptiness in the village. Did Basta's dogs eat the cats? Meggie shuddered at the thought.

However, when they reached the square where Capricorn's house was located, the men turned left away from the house and toward the large church doors. Meggie hadn't noticed the church when they first arrived, but its presence was now known as it towered above them. She continued to cling onto Mo as they approached. Maybe the eroding building would collapse and flatten all of Capricorn's men, including the villain himself. Likely not, but the eyes and demons painted on the doors made her lose her confidence.

"Welcome to the devil's house!" said the limping man, grinning.

"Don't do that, Cockerell!" said Flatnose, spitting three times on the ground. "It's bad luck!"

"You're becoming like Basta! We made up those lies, you know," the man countered, opening the doors so they could enter.

"Some date before us though," he returned, but Cockerell grew disinterested.

"Let me speak, and only me. Basta is quick to his knife, believe me," Mo whispered to the group, only to have Cockerell turn on him.

"Basta isn't the only one with a knife, Silvertongue!" he exclaimed, pushing Meggie and Mo into the church.

Ron and Harry were shoved rudely through the doors, and they entered the true heart of darkness. Absolutely everything was covered in red, a red so thick it was the color of blood. It gave Ron the chills, but there was nothing he could do at the moment. The chills could have come from the draftiness of the church, which was chillier than the outside weather.

They passed a rather large statue, which was ugly in every way imaginable. Ron didn't even need to describe it to someone to know it was automatically ugly. Cockerell yelled at Elinor for not bowing to it, which gave them a momentary pass to not bow down to this villain.

There were pews and no altar. Everything had been removed, save for two long wooden tables with benches and a large chair that stood where the altar would be. The chair was the blood red color as well. There were cleaning women among them – including Ginny, Hermione, and Luna – who were busy at work clearing off the junk that resided on the tables. Knives, mugs, plates; those sorts of things. Ron and Harry gave the girls sympathetic looks, and possibly one that said 'we'll figure out a way to save you'. They smiled in acknowledgement and continued their work; for fear that the men would threaten them. The girls had also been selected to see Capricorn's special event apparently.

The five stood off near the two tables, waiting for their purpose of being at the church. Ron noticed that Basta and Dustfinger were in attendance. By the way Meggie was glaring at Dustfinger, Ron knew that the man had done something terrible against her.

Ron was right; Meggie absolutely hated Dustfinger. She wanted nothing more than to run up the steps where he sat and slap him in the face. This betrayal hurt more than anything – Meggie eventually came to recognize by the way he seemed disinterested in the world was because he _wasn't_ from this one. He was from _Inkheart_, as well as every other man she saw in the room.

Basta hauled up a gas can past the makeshift fire pit in the church, and plopped it down next to Dustfinger. Ron thought everything was very odd… what did this villain have in mind by bringing them to this 'ceremony'? Basta ignored the group, and immediately began to tell the fire tamer what to do with the gas.

"Here, toy with this," Basta said, observing how Dustfinger played with his matches. "Light a fire for us in the pit," he added, and frowned when the fire tamer seemingly ignored him. When Dustfinger lit another match, much closer to Basta, Basta knocked it away in annoyance.

"Still afraid of fire?" Dustfinger said, shrugging.

"No!" the man returned, defensively.

"Of all people Basta, you shouldn't do that," Dustfinger said calmly, watching the flame disappear as it hit the floor. "Fire takes offense quickly. It's bad luck."

Basta looked as if he was about to strike the fire tamer, but instead took out his knife and began to caress it. "You're lucky I just cleaned my knife," he started to say, grinning. "Another trick like that and I'll carve a few more patterns into your face and make a nice fur coat out of your marten."

Gwin seemed to take offense, scurried back toward Dustfinger's shoulder. Basta grinned like a fool – he loved making threats.

"Why do you need a fire?" the fire tamer asked, curiously. "Right now?"

"Yes, right now," Basta replied, impatiently. "Never mind that. Feed it so it grows large, and not like the silly small ones you like to contain."

Dustfinger brought along the gas can to the pit where he began his work. Seconds later, the large church doors opened for the second time, and in came strolling Capricorn. His attire match the color of the walls, but his face was still as pale as the moon. The contrast of color tried to make him look more striking, more bold… but it just made him just as terrible and cruel. Six of his men trailed behind him, dressed entirely in black and holding guns with mean expressions. Capricorn nodded at his statue, and proceeded to stop in front of the group of 'prisoners'. Mo visibly tensed up.

"Wasn't it nice that I reunited you with your little girl, Silvertongue? I thought to myself, why not reward her for bringing the book to me?" he said, his voice just as lovely as it was yesterday. Meggie hated it even more.

"Let Elinor and my daughter go," pleaded Mo. "They don't have any use for you, and I'll read anything you want. Just let them go first."

"No, Mo! I don't want to go without you!" Meggie said, clinging to her father's arm.

Capricorn laughed, his hands tensing around _Inkheart_. Meggie wondered where the Harry Potter book went. The villain wouldn't have use for it, but why was he holding onto it? He had _Inkheart_. She wanted her book back.

"Why would I let them go once they're already here? No, no, that won't do. You won't deny us a demonstration of your skill, Silvertongue."

Capricorn turned toward the fire pit, as Dustfinger fed the hungry flames to a roaring and healthy fire. But he suddenly turned back toward the group, as if he had forgotten something to tell them. "As for _this_ book," Capricorn started to say, his words like venom. "This long, tedious, and uninteresting book will no longer keep me spellbound by its pages. Did everything have to talk – the whispering trees and pools? The creatures, those annoying little faeries and goblins! I'll be glad to forever be gone of them."

As he spoke, one of his men carried in a large and heavy box, as shown by the man struggling with it. Cockerell was handed Mo's copy of _Inkheart_, while Capricorn opened the top of the box the man had placed on the ground. In it was filled to the brim with books – not just any books Ron observed – the same book. This _Inkheart_ book was certainly causing Capricorn some pain.

"I had my men searched for every last copy of this awful book. As you can imagine, it was very difficult. Secondhand bookstores, homes, every attic searched you can imagine. We've finally collected each and every copy of the book, in every language imaginable. It's trouble, really. One language is certainly enough for us," said Capricorn, casually. "Right, Dustfinger?"

Dustfinger stood rooted to his spot, the gas can still in his grasp. "What are you doing with those books?" he replied, noticing how Capricorn moved toward the fire with the two copies in his hands. When Capricorn pitched them into the fire pit, Dustfinger reacted by lunging forward.

"Stay where you were," Basta ordered, yanking him back harshly.

Ron didn't know what to make of the situation anymore. This was crazy, certainly crazier than back in his own story. As the flames licked at the books, he wondered if Hermione was taking this well. He heard a gasp from their general vicinity, and he knew it was not so. However it alerted Capricorn to the women, and he immediately waved his hand.

"Take them back," he ordered, and two men surrounded Hermione, Ginny, and Luna. Ron tried to help them, but a rather large gun blocked his path.

"You best be staying put," the man ordered, and Ron sulked back to his standing spot.

Harry nudged Ron's shoulder. "Look," he whispered, nodding toward Basta. Ron shrugged in confusion.

"What?" he asked.

"He has one of our wands in his pocket!"

Basta had one of their wands visibly sticking out of his pocket. The location of their wands must have been divvied up between people and/or houses. That made things more difficult, certainly.

Dustfinger was taking it the hardest. He hardly heard a word that Capricorn was saying about his friend, fire. Ron didn't really care either, but something compelled Dustfinger to grow emotional over the burning of the books.

"You told me that Silvertongue's copy was the last one," Dustfinger said at last, his eyes full of hatred.

"I told you lots of things, Dustfinger," Capricorn said, as his men began to throw the copies into the fire now. "It's fun to lie to you. You're so gullible, it's really almost pathetic."

Dustfinger was unnerved by Basta's knife, so he tried not to lunge for the books his friend was eating up. The books were becoming ash, and his dreams were beginning to blacken as well. "You told me you would! That's why I brought you the book! That's why I brought you Silvertongue's daughter!" he shouted.

Capricorn looked entirely bored. He looked at his nails quickly, and then decided to grab back the book in Cockerell's hand. "I would have fetched down the moon if you had asked, if it would have done me any good," Capricorn said, stepping slowly toward the fire. "I'm happy to keep promises, especially those I can't keep."

The copy of _Inkheart _was thrown into the fire. Dustfinger couldn't hold back his emotions any longer, and lunged at the fire. Flatnose was upon him instantly, making the fire tamer look like a little child. Dustfinger struggled against the man, to no avail. He was much stronger, and he was forced to look at the burning books hungrily.

Mo took a step forward, but he hadn't seen Basta nearby with his knife in tow. Meggie couldn't help but gasp. The malice of Capricorn horrified her, and she had to admit she felt a little bad for the fire tamer. Even though he had tricked her, he had been subject to trickery as well.

With the momentary distraction, Dustfinger wiggled free from Flatnose and stuck his hands in the fire immediately. The fire did not obey the fire tamer this time, and Flatnose had recovered in time to stop Dustfinger from grabbing a burning copy. His face was pained and his hands were as red as a lobster.

"Let me have a copy, at least!" Mo tried, avoiding the fact that Basta's knife was against his throat. "I swear, I won't read a line that contains your name in it!"

Capricorn turned toward Mo with a crooked smile. "Do you honestly think that I'd let _you_, of all people, to handle the book? No, that won't do. I might find myself back into that silly story," he replied. He turned back to Dustfinger, becoming amused at the insults Basta threw at the fire tamer.

"I told you, Capricorn, I can't read you into the story! I can only read out! I've tried to tell Dustfinger that before, but he won't listen! You have to believe me!"

"Sorry, Silvertongue, I don't believe anyone. We're all liars when it serves our purpose."

Capricorn seemed to get annoyed with the wriggling Dustfinger. "Dustfinger, have Mortola attend to your hands. You're no good without them, and then what will I have to do with you?" he said, in a powerful voice. He signaled for Flatnose to let him go.

Dustfinger bowed his head, probably to avoid Meggie and Mo's looks. He obeyed of course, bathing the church in light when he left. It grew dark again, and Capricorn sat at his red throne and looked at the burning fire with glee.

He straightened up. "Come now, Silvertongue! You ability is needed!" he said, and Meggie squeezed her father's hand. "As of now, Dustfinger, Basta, and I are the only witnesses to your extraordinary talent. Though you are rather unsure of it, as I don't believe it, I'd like to have another taste of it, in another context let's say. Cockerell!"

The limping man nodded. "Didn't I tell you to bring the reader? Where is he?" Capricorn shouted, making the man flinch uneasily.

"He's still choosing books!" Cockerell stammered. "I'll go get him at once!"

Capricorn looked bored again as the man limped off. "I suppose you're curious, Silvertongue?" he asked.

Ron whispered to Harry. "No."

Capricorn moved on from the rhetorical question. "I found the reader about five years ago. Not as useful as you, I'm afraid. He'd stammer and mispronounce words all over the place when I wanted him to read from _Inkheart_. The characters came out quite ugly most of time, like the women we used to read out. Flatnose and Cockerell have become victims, with what the injuries and all. But sometimes I'd find my men appearing out of the stories, and even younger boys who liked to play with fire."

Mo tensed up. "What do you want me to read out for you? Monsters, other deformed characters?" he said, bitterly.

Capricorn laughed. "No, I'm sure we'll get to the monsters later. But I have a large appetite for gold – money is what make us live more comfortably – my men try to squeeze the land for resources. But this world of yours is filled with numerous pages, pages I'd like to write my name on."

"Will you have Basta scratch your name with his knife on every page?" Mo retorted.

"Heavens, no, Basta cannot read or write," Capricorn said, casually. "I've forbidden it, actually. One of the maidservants has taught me to read and write however, and there I _can_ make my mark on your world, Silvertongue."

As if on cue, Cockerell and the new reader appeared at the doorway. The reader was hunched over like an old man, but he must have been no older than Mo. His arms and legs moved awkwardly, and he seemed less agile than the limping man. When the reader approached the steps, Cockerell nudged him in the ribs so hard that a couple books fell out of his arms. He bowed, scooped up the books, and bowed again to Capricorn.

"I trust you picked out the books I needed, Darius?" Capricorn said.

"Yes, sir, I have. Is that… him?" Darius replied, motioning to Mo.

Capricorn nodded. "Yes, go show him the books."

Darius quickly approached Mo and bowed. "It was difficult acquiring these books, oh yes, but I found them alright. They should contain a fair amount of gold each," he said, laying the books out. "You should be happy with the choices."

_Treasure Island_ and _Tales From the One Thousand and One Nights_ were among the choices. Mo picked up the latter, and Meggie was somewhat relieved. She had personally only read the former, and she hoped the agenda Capricorn was looking for wasn't contained in the book Mo held.

"I can't guarantee anything," Mo warned, making Capricorn roll his eyes. "I can't control what I read."

"How many times must you tell me this?" Capricorn replied, shaking his head. "I don't believe you and never will, so you better start reading!"

Mo nervously opened the book. "I want Elinor and Meggie out of this room when I start to read. I won't do it if you don't."

"Nonsense, of course they'll stay!" Capricorn said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And you'll read, Silvertongue, whether or not your conditions are met. I control the fate of your precious daughter."

Meggie didn't like the gleam from Basta's eyes or his knife.

Mo sighed heavily, and began flipping open the book before Capricorn stopped him. "Oh, start with that book, Silvertongue," Capricorn added, pointing to the book Mo pushed aside.

_Treasure Island._

However, the company on the other side of the village was blissfully unaware of the events taking place in the church. Well, Dustfinger could probably guess. But Resa, one of the maidservants, was attending to his burns. Mortola was sleeping and usually too grumpy to care.

"I saw her with one of those… wands you were talking about," he told Hermione, and the girl smiled for once. "They're scattered all over the village, and Capricorn made it that way."

Resa had given Ginny a notepad to write her words down, just as she did. They both couldn't speak, but it was Dustfinger that understood Resa quite well. He was illiterate as well, but she was teaching him letters and the like. It was difficult.

A loud noise, like a pop, scared the two adults. Hermione, Ginny, and Luna hadn't even flinched, but they were surprised when the house elf, Dobby, stood in the middle of the group.

"Harry Potter sent me with this, Miss Granger," Dobby said, holding out a wand on his palms. It looked liked Ron's wand, being Pettigrew's wand anyway. Hermione didn't care. They had their tool to escape.

Dustfinger spoke for Resa. "You're going to escape?" he suggested.

"Yes, we are," Hermione replied excitedly, taking the wand. "Can you Apparate Luna back to the house we were at before this, Dobby?"

The house elf nodded. "Of course, Miss Granger," he replied, nodding quickly.

The door suddenly burst open before Hermione had a chance to react. It was Basta looking for Dustfinger. "Dustfinger, where is your sorry self?" he called out, entering the room. He looked instantly at the wand in Hermione's hand, to Dobby, and completely ignoring the original purpose of his task.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked angrily, approaching her. "And where'd that thing come from?"

"Quick, Dobby, now!" Hermione said, her voice almost squeaking. She grabbed Ginny by the arm and Apparated, while Dobby did the same to Luna. Basta, in his hesitation, did what his mind told him to do in the situation of quick thinking: throw the knife. It flew toward the house elf and disappeared with a pop.

"Damn, I'll need a new knife," Basta muttered, looking now at Dustfinger and Resa. "Capricorn won't be too happy about this."

Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Dobby had arrived back at Elinor's house, but it had not entailed safety. Luna emitted a cry of surprise, causing the three to turn and look at her, when she saw the handle of Basta's knife sticking out of her side. She collapsed to the ground, luckily avoiding the side the knife was embedded in.

Hermione uttered her own cry of surprise, and instantly tended to her side. She looked to Dobby when she couldn't come up with a plan. "What are we going to do?" she asked, tears gradually coming.

"Please don't cry, Miss Granger," Dobby said, nodding again. "I'll go find Harry Potter."

With that, he was gone. Ginny had gone to the other side of Luna in the meantime, and scribbled frantically across the page in her notebook. She handed it to Hermione.

"No, we can't," Hermione said, shaking her head quickly.

_We have to pull it out._

Ginny took her notebook out again and wrote.

_The wound can't heal with a knife in it… we have to bandage it quickly or something._

Hermione shuddered, but they'd have to heal her somehow… and quickly. A repeat at Shell Cottage was not going to occur again.

Ginny held the handle firmly. "I'll hurt a little, okay Luna?" Hermione said, as bravely as she could. Luna nodded as best she could, and when Hermione reached the number three, Ginny starting pulling on the knife. Luna cried out in pain. The echo was eerie, as the house was completely deserted. The rest were still in that horrible village.

The inevitable was going to happen: these men would have to help Luna eventually, and they'd have to go back to the village. Perhaps they'd be able to wiggle out of maidservants duties, but they'd have to give the wand up. Else, the men wouldn't trust them. Killing Capricorn wouldn't do anyone any good right now, as much as Hermione hated it.


	5. Dangerous Readings

_**Author's Note:**_

Umgubular Slashkilters belong to Luna Lovegood and J.K. Rowling.

Some of the dialogue is directly from _Inkheart_, and some is based off of it. I'm at Chapter 19 -- Gloomy Prospects.

Enjoy the next chapter! (:

~Loligo7687

* * *

Chapter 5 – Dangerous Readings

The church seemed to have disappeared around Meggie, as well as the chill the draft gave her. There was nothing reminding her of the horrible situation surrounding them. All that mattered was Mo and his reading voice. Unfortunately, Capricorn's smooth voice captured her attention again.

Capricorn continued giving orders. "Bring the woman and the boys up here with you, Flatnose. Basta can remain in his current spot," he instructed them.

Elinor, Harry, Ron, and Neville were brought among Capricorn's men, but Meggie was allowed to stay with her father. Not even Darius, who was fiddling with his glasses nervously, was allowed to be around Mo.

"Go on, Silvertongue! Read for us! And Cockerell, feel free to cut out the tongue of anyone who makes a sound during the reading," Capricorn added, motioning toward the group beside him. Meggie thought she saw Elinor turn a shade paler, but her attention snapped back to Mo when he called her name.

"Meggie!" he whispered. "Hold onto me as tightly as you can!"

Meggie did as she was told. After all, she couldn't bear to lose him again. Did he think she might disappear like her mother had nine years ago? Meggie would never go into that accursed book.

Mo meticulously flipped through the pages of _Treasure Island_, not pleased with any of the passages so far. The church was extremely quiet; Capricorn's warning had been understood with the utmost gravity. The pages filled the church with their crinkling sound, and Mo let out a sigh.

"I've found a passage," he announced, and Capricorn nodded in response. Mo glanced at Meggie briefly before looking up at Elinor and the wizards. He would probably come to regret this.

As his first words began to resonate within the church, Meggie was captivated and utterly spellbound by his voice. It was incredibly lovely! Mo's voice was silky and powerful, yet he had hid it from her for nine years! And for good reason…

The remaining maidservants, still clearing away the dishes on the tables, were the first to recognize Mo's gift in use. Coins of different sizes, made from gold, silver, and copper, fell from the ceiling (or possibly an imaginary hole in their world) and spilled messily to the floor. They clattered loudly as they bounced off the floors and tables. Capricorn's men were confused at first -- should they gather the coins rolling about their feet? Most were hesitant to move without Capricorn's orders.

Meggie held onto Mo even tighter as the coins fell, knowing that this dangerous ability had terrible consequences. Capricorn's loud sigh distracted her from looking at the falling coins.

"Go on, pick them up! Don't stand around like bumbling idiots!" he exclaimed, causing the men to scramble about. They immediately started placing the coins in bags and various boxes. Darius, however, avoided the men and darted straight to Mo.

"That was incredible!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide with delight. "That never happens when I read out of books! I could smell the sand, the salt from the ocean, and I felt the sea breeze! Incredible!"

Mo hardly felt the same. "Here, take it back!" he replied, pushing the book into the other reader's hands. "I don't want to read from it again. I don't want to find out what happens a second time."

Elinor appeared behind Darius. "Incredible? I feared for my own life in case the villain came out!" she exclaimed.

"That's why I tried not to specifically read his name in the passage," Mo said.

"Very good!" Capricorn commented. "See that, Darius? That's real gold. Not a bad start at all, Silvertongue. Keep it in mind, Darius, in case you'll have to read for me in the future."

The last was a lie. Capricorn knew another that could speak more eloquently than Darius.

Meanwhile, Ron kicked a pile of sand that had also leaked into the church. It hit one of the men scrounging around for coins, and he growled in annoyance. It took a lot to suppress his laughter. Harry didn't condone him for his actions, but it was for their safety in the future. There was no need to provoke the violent men. Yet Neville was not inclined in the least to partake in either activities, rather was examining the three silver coins on his palm.

"What have you got, Neville?" Ron asked.

"Coins. They're nothing like Wizarding currency, but I bet we could change them into something similar to the Dumbledore's Army Galleons," Neville replied, storing them in his pocket in case he got caught.

Harry agreed. "Hermione could do it, I bet," he said.

Ron shook his head. "We're forgetting that we don't have our wands," he imputed. "Unless we get a wand to Hermione, that plan isn't going to work either."

"Remember earlier?" Harry said, grinning. "That Basta fellow has got one of our wands!"

Ron looked a bit happier. "You're right. But who's going to steal it back?" he asked.

Ron and Harry immediately glanced at Neville. His face betrayed a little fear. "But why me?" he protested, naturally.

"You continued Dumbledore's Army in our stead, didn't you?" Harry said, nodding. "You're plenty brave, Neville! We know you can do it. You'll go unnoticed."

He reluctantly agreed at last. "Well, he's all the way over there. Why don't we just ask Meggie to do it?" Neville said.

"Okay, okay, fine," Ron said, slightly annoyed. In the temporary chaos, Harry eventually found Meggie's gaze and captured it.

His eyes briefly shifted to Basta and back to hers, and she wondered what he was trying to get at. Basta was helping with the coin clean up with his knife between his teeth. But what was Harry trying to say? Meggie looked again, now noticing the wand sticking out of Basta's pocket. Of course! She wasn't going to be the one to take it, was she?

She eventually conceded to the idea, and reached for the wand ever so carefully…

Her hand gently pulled it out of his pocket. Basta turned suddenly and waved his knife at her, causing her to jump back in fright. Fortunately, he hadn't noticed the theft she had committed. She kept it behind her back until she was sure nobody was watching. Meggie placed the wand against her side and covered it with her shirt. Just maybe everything would work out!

Once the coin collecting had ceased, Meggie examined the faces of the men around her. They eyed Mo nervously -- the fear of such ability was betrayed in their features. Even Basta, wielding his famous knife, revealed a mixed look of wonder and fear. Meggie smiled at the prospect of the men being afraid of her father.

"They're afraid of you, Mo!" she whispered, happily. "You can see it on their faces!"

"Perhaps," he mused. "They never know what is going to be swapped in exchange for gold!"

Elinor was promptly escorted back toward the wizards as Capricorn grew restless once more. "There are more books to read, Silvertongue. Let's go with _Tales From the Thousand and One Nights_, shall we?" he said, his lips curving upward. "There ought to be some treasure in that one."

Ron, Harry, and Neville could only watch as Mo picked up the next book to read to the assembly. Though their existence in this world was threatened by the ability, they were most pleased when Meggie had stolen back one of their wands. They also had come to realize that they were very much a part of Meggie's 'story', as well as their ties back home at Hogwarts. Before they would return, this Capricorn would have to disappear.

"What's the plan once we get the wand?" Ron asked, like usual. "Do we keep it, or get it to the girls?"

"Get it to the girls," Neville whispered, noticing Cockerell's shiny knife. "They'll have more use for it."

"Quiet you two!" Cockerell exclaimed. "I trust that you want to keep your tongues?"

Capricorn ignored the commotion. His eyes were on Mo -- the lifeless eyes held a troubling gleam. Meggie still hated him.

"They say that nobody can read it cover to cover," Mo whispered, smoothing out the page he was going to read. But which of the tales would her father read?

The second reading went almost as well as the first. Mo's lovely voice filled the church with a tale of treasure that Capricorn wanted to possess. As he read, powdery sand formed at their feet. Ron was tempted to kick some at Cockerell. But there were no medallions, gold coins, or sapphires raining down on them. There were only worthless piles of sand.

"Where's Fulvio?" a man exclaimed, causing Mo to stop reading. "He was standing next to me a second ago!"

Capricorn looked unfazed. "Fulvio almost gave us away to the police. Better him than me. Silvertongue, please continue," he said.

Meggie was among the first to see a boy, not much older than herself, standing in the cooled fire pit. She wanted to yell at him to run as fast as he could, but Capricorn spotted him immediately.

"Seize him!" Capricorn exclaimed.

Flatnose was easily the largest man of Capricorn's group, especially being able to hold back Dustfinger. He grabbed the boy by the arm and yanked him toward the floor.

"Send him back, Silvertongue!" Capricorn ordered, motioning to the book.

"I've already told you, I can't send anyone back! I can only read people out of books!" Mo said, desperately. "I don't want to read anymore."

Capricorn thought a moment. "Bring the boy to the cages. Tomorrow we'll see if he has an affinity for fire," he said. "As for you Silvertongue, I suggest you start reading again."

Mo shook his head. "You've seen the consequences, and I tire from reading," he replied. Meggie was worried that Capricorn would dislike his answer.

"I do suppose I've heard enough reading for today," he replied.

"For today?" Mo asked, worried. "I read you out a fortune!"

"I didn't say _when_ I'd let you leave, but we'll have another reading session. Today was really only a test. I wanted to be sure that your ability still worked," Capricorn said, nodding. "I have bigger plans for you yet, Silvertongue. You're going to read out a good friend of mine."

Mo tensed. Meggie noticed this and tugged on his sleeve. "What does he mean, Mo?" she asked.

Her father's voice was hardly above a whisper. "Not the Shadow…" he murmured, horrified.

"You see," Capricorn continued, revealing a book of his own. "I kept a copy of _Inkheart_ for myself. Did you think I'd really let all of them burn? But tomorrow you're going to read out this friend for me."

Mo stared back in disbelief.

"Have your rest, Silvertongue. Give them food and blankets," he instructed his men. "Take them back!"

Basta pushed Meggie and Mo out of the church, while Cockerell limped behind the wizards and Elinor.

"You're all monsters!" she cried out, but Cockerell just prodded her forward.

"That's not nice," he mused. "Are you going to insult the ones who are giving you a meal?"

-x-

Rummaging through the medicine cabinet in Elinor's bathroom, Hermione was able to locate some gauze and antibiotics to help heal Luna's wound. Ginny remained at her side while Hermione went on her search. The 'episkey' spell had helped mesh the skin back together, but it was going to leave an ugly scar once properly healed.

Luna's face contorted as she sat up, and Hermione warned her that the antibiotics might sting. Ginny wiped both sides of the knife on the grass, leaving behind streaks of red. She scribbled quickly on the notebook.

_We might need this later._

Ginny stored the knife between her belt and her jeans, covering it with her shirt.

"Worst case scenario, I should hope," Hermione replied, tying off the gauze.

Luna looked at her bandaged torso. "Thank you both," she remarked happily. "I started to worry that the Umgubular Slashkilters might be attracted to the smell of blood."

Ginny continued to write. _Are they found in Italy?_

Forgetting the wound in her side, Luna began to recount a story about Umgubular Slashkilters and how her father had chased them across Italy. Hermione feigned listening; she wished that she could know what was happening in Capricorn's village. Just as she considered Apparating back, the usual popping noise announced Dobby's arrival.

"Miss Granger!" he exclaimed, hurrying to her side. "Neville Longbottom told me to give you these!"

Hermione took the three silver coins from his outstretched hand. She examined them closely, noticing that they were ordinary currency. What could Neville want with the coins?

"Dobby, what else did Neville say about the coins?" Hermione asked.

"Dobby heard Neville say something about Dumbledore's Army," Dobby replied.

Hermione smiled. She knew what to do. "I'll get right to work then!" she exclaimed.

-x-

The prisoners did get enough food to eat, as promised by Capricorn. Ron was the happiest. Although their entertainment was limited to themselves, the light bulb had been fixed during the morning hours. Meggie had almost forgotten the wand against her side, if not for Dobby stirring in the corner.

"What has Dobby missed, Harry Potter?" he asked, his legs wobbly. Elinor was even more amazed that the Harry Potter characters were among them still. But she returned to examining her stockings with three large holes visible in them.

"Nothing important," Harry replied, quickly. "Well, besides the fact that we're imprisoned here. But don't worry about us. We need to get this wand to the girls."

Dobby nodded. "I'll go find them, sir," he replied.

Harry gave him the wand. "They're somewhere in the kitchens," he said.

"Will do, sir! Luckily, I've been there before," Dobby replied, disappearing in a flash.

"Maybe they can let us out," Ron said, sighing.

Meggie shrugged. "I don't know, it would be awfully dangerous," she imputed.

"True, but you never know," he replied.

They lapsed into a brief silence before Elinor started complaining about her appearance. Meggie reassured her about it, but it did not keep the fear away. More importantly, she wished she knew if the boy from the story was okay. He was probably frightened to death.

"Mo, do you know where that boy is? And who is Capricorn's friend?" Meggie suddenly asked.

"I don't know, Meggie," Mo replied, looking disinterested.

Mo's answer wasn't helpful in the least. Meggie sat there, bored, sticking her hands in her pants' pocket. Her fingers wrapped around a key, one from her bicycle lock. It wasn't helpful at all either.

Among the other names engraved in the walls, Meggie began to scratch her name into one of them. Maybe this would be her legacy -- just a name to leave behind in this terrible place. Fortunately, Dobby saved them from going crazy in the silence.

"Harry Potter! Harry Potter!" Dobby squeaked, urgently.

"What is it, Dobby?" Harry replied.

"Dobby brought Luna back to the house, as Miss Granger told me to, sir," he replied. "As we escaped the kitchens, the scary man threw a knife at Luna and hit her."

Neville showed the most remorse of them all. Meggie had faith in Hermione's ability, but she would feel utterly responsible if one of the characters died in her world.

"I think we should give it a shot, especially since they're safe…" Neville said, trying to forget about Luna's physical condition.

Harry knew what Neville meant. "Dobby, I think you'd be safer with the girls. Could you give these coins to them?" he asked. Neville held out the coins for the house elf to take.

"I hope they work like the Dumbledore's Army Galleons," Neville remarked, sighing.

Dobby's little face scrunched. "What if Harry Potter is in danger?" he asked, on the verge of tears.

Harry tried to reassure him. "Really, Dobby, we aren't in any danger. We'll be okay," Harry said, and it seemed to convince him.

Dobby left as quickly as he arrived, and Neville's head dropped into his hands.

This was all caused by her! She should have never read them out! Meggie wanted to cry herself.

But the loud clanging of keys and angry voices replaced her dreary thoughts. An ugly, old woman came in first, carrying in cups of tea. A red faced Basta followed her with his knife pointed at Meggie.

"What did you do?" he asked, his voice trembling with anger.

Mo sprang to life again, wedging himself between the knife and Meggie.

"I didn't do anything!" Meggie exclaimed, hiding behind Mo. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Leave her alone!" Elinor exclaimed.

"Shut it, old woman," Basta snapped. "Your friends escaped and I'd like to know where they are."

"What, are you going to cut out my tongue if I don't tell you?" Meggie replied, but Mo gave her a look. "Even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you."

Basta considered his next move. He looked from the wizards to Meggie before lowering his knife. "How silly of me," he said at last. "You were all cooped up in here. I guess Capricorn will be terribly upset that they escaped."

The old woman grumbled. "Now I've got to do all the work," she said, leaving in a hurry. Meggie definitely did not like her either.

"Drink up, Silvertongue! Your throat needs to be well for tomorrow!" Basta said, turning to go. "If not, I'll gladly cut your daughter's tongue out of her mouth!"

Mo flung his cup of tea at Basta, but it missed and broke as it hit against the door. His laughter faded away slowly.

For a third time, Dobby reappeared. Harry was growing uneasy. But the house elf handed him two silver coins, and he understood the danger of being here.

"Be careful," Harry warned him. He handed a coin to Neville. "She's alright."

Neville let out a sigh of relief. Then all was quiet again.

They received a small dinner. The sun was disappearing quickly, and the new light bulb helped them see one another.

"Mo, could you tell me the story about our adventure in Egypt?" Meggie asked, clinging to his side.

Mo laughed. "The story I made up for your eighth birthday? I thought it ended rather gloomy," he replied.

"Tell it, please," she insisted.

Mo agreed. Everyone listened as well -- it took their minds off tomorrow's event.

"There was once a little girl named Meggie who traveled with her father, Mo, into the deserts of Egypt. They had enough water and provisions for a couple weeks, and the camels Mo purchased carried it all on the journey.

"The map, describing the path to the pyramid, was hard to decipher. The burning sun above them did not help, but a man at the oasis they saw helped them with the symbols and markings --"

"Mo, does anything happen when you make up a story and tell it?" Meggie interrupted, nervous for a second.

"No, actually. It seems that ink and another author's words are needed," Mo answered.

_Well, that's interesting _she thought.

Mo finished his story within the hour, and urged Meggie and the wizards to sleep. Meggie told him to go to bed as well. He looked so tired!

Elinor conversed with him before also retiring for the night. "What are we going to do?" she whispered. "Tomorrow's event should not happen, Mortimer!"

"I'm thinking, Elinor," he replied, quietly. "But our only option is to escape… by noon tomorrow."

-x-

Hermione was pleased with her work. Not only did it tell the date and time, it also revealed a small message if needed. When Dobby returned, she had already inscribed the first message: _Luna's okay._

"One more trip, Dobby," she said, handing him two silver coins. He nodded and departed.

Hermione joined Luna and Ginny inside the house for the time being. She was in love with all of Elinor's books. The ones she was most interested in were her own. Carefully, she took _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_ off its shelf and began to read it.

Luna skipped into the room, despite her injury. "I wouldn't read that if I were you," she said simply.

Hermione looked up. "Why not?" she asked.

Luna shrugged. "There are some things we shouldn't know, even if we have the opportunity to," she replied.

"What if I could kill Voldemort with the information in this book, had I not been aware of Horcruxes?"

"I still wouldn't read it."

Maybe Luna was right. Hermione put the book down.

They slept in Elinor's guest rooms for the night. It was peaceful, quiet, and comfortable. However, the sun was barely up when Dobby woke Hermione.

"Miss Granger!" he squeaked. "They escaped from the village!"

She sat up. "How do you know?" she asked, now fully awake.

"Dobby saw the cage empty!"


	6. Escape From Capricorn's Village

_**Author's Note:**_

I have a new poll for this story! _Who should get 'read' out of Deathly Hallows next? _Interesting results so far!

There's a bit of a time lag between POVs, but it should get corrected next chapter. A long awaited character from _Inkheart_ makes an appearance next chapter and here on out.

Some of the dialogue is from _Inkheart_, based off it, or entirely my own. Enjoy!

~Loligo7687

**_Author's Note_ (1/9/13):**

Added a bit more to this chapter, woohoo!

~Lucy

* * *

Chapter 6 – Escape From Capricorn's Village

The shuffling of keys woke Meggie and the wizards, but Mo and Elinor were already alert and poised. They expected Basta or Cockerell, but received someone very different indeed.

"Stay against the walls," he instructed them. They did so, leaving Mo standing alone in the middle of the room.

The lock clicked and the door swung open gently, just enough to let the slender figure inside. Meggie was not at all happy to see Dustfinger. Elinor was not either.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Elinor asked, annoyed. She didn't leave much room for a proper hello.

Mo went against his better judgment. "Oh, cut him a break, Elinor," he started. "How are your hands?"

Dustfinger flexed his fingers gently, ignoring Elinor's question for the moment. "Much better I'd say, especially with the bandages around them," he replied. "But I heard about the boy you read out, Silvertongue. Frightened to death they say. Can't say I don't blame him."

Meggie decided to take this opportunity to inquire about the boy. "Where is he?" she asked, concerned.

"The next one over," Dustfinger replied at once, undaunted by her earlier threats. "They have decided to spare him. Very lucky indeed."

_I must help him_ Meggie thought.

Dustfinger turned to address the wizards next. "Your girlfriends are okay if you wanted to know," he started to say. "They escaped with the uh… fairy thing."

"Elf," Harry corrected him. "House Elf."

Ron and Neville relaxed. Harry grinned. They would be safer at Elinor's house, if Dobby had brought them there.

"Anyway, I've come to help you all escape," he continued, looking at Mo. "Lucky for us, the sentry are patrolling the hills. We should be able to drive away without too much trouble."

"And why should we trust _you_?" Elinor asked, skeptically.

Dustfinger held out a ring of keys. "It was difficult to acquire these, you can be certain. There's nothing left for me here, not after Capricorn betrayed me. I _want_ to take you along with me. Besides, I can't drive," he said.

Meggie released some of her anger. She pitied Dustfinger a little. To condone his betrayal was folly, but she could understand. She didn't know anything about this _Inkheart_, but she supposed he was homesick.

"Well, I hope you've got two cars because we'll never all fit," she replied. Mo was even surprised at her reaction.

Dustfinger bowed his head slightly. "Take your shoes off so we don't get caught. Follow me," he said, slipping past the door.

They did as they were instructed. Meggie noticed that Dustfinger was walking off with the keys.

"Mo!" she whispered, as loud as she could manage. He knew what she wanted. Mo was good like that, but she supposed that he ought to after so many years of being close.

"Dustfinger!" Mo said, causing the fire tamer to turn. "We've got to bring the boy along with us. I won't condemn him to the fate I've caused."

_I've condemned the Harry Potter characters_ Meggie thought.

Dustfinger retreated back to the door with the five scribbled above it. "Your soft heart will be the ruin of us yet, Silvertongue," he said, successfully unlocking the door.

"But my silver tongue shall give us salvation," Mo countered.

"Hardly," the fire tamer muttered.

Mo urged Meggie inside the cage, knowing that she was the best candidate for coaxing him out. "Quickly, Meggie," he whispered.

Meggie found herself looking at the boy in a matter of seconds. He glanced up, afraid, and shifted his gaze back to the floor.

"Come with us, we're leaving this terrible place," Meggie said, hoping he understood her language.

He did. "Devils or demons!" he said to himself. "This is all a dream, just a dream."

His English was almost perfect. Meggie didn't have much time to analyze it. "You'll meet some real devils if you stay here," she warned him.

"They say that you can be trapped in a dream if you speak," he said aloud, whether or not it was clearly addressed to Meggie was up for debate.

"I'm afraid that this isn't some elaborate dream, so come with us now!"

It seemed to do the trick, somehow. The boy stood up cautiously and eyed her for a minute before exiting, as if against his better judgment. Mo was most relieved of them all.

Dustfinger lead them through the quiet village and down toward the parking lot. Meggie stuck close to Elinor and Mo, feeling most comfortable squished between them. They boy seemed to have an affinity for the fire tamer, but Dustfinger would give him odd looks every so often.

"Ow!" Ron complained, in a hushed voice. "I stepped on a rock!"

"Too bad Hermione wasn't here to heal you," Harry said, feeling at his pocket. "But, speaking of…"

Ron mumbled something incoherently. The newest message read: _Worried_. Harry showed him the coin. Ron glanced at it, but shook his head thoughtfully.

It wasn't until the parking lot did they feel comfortable speaking in a normal tone of voice. Elinor gladly broke the eerie silence.

"Which cars are we taking?" she asked.

Dustfinger pointed to the two cards in the middle of the lot. "Here's the key for the one on the left," he said, tossing her the key. He gave Mo the other. "I'll be _right_ back."

He scurried off without explanation. Mo looked at the key.

"I'll take Dustfinger and these two," Mo said, motioning toward Meggie and the boy.

"And I'll take Harry, Ron, and Neville," Elinor said, proudly. Meggie felt bad for them.

Meggie and the boy climbed into the backseat apprehensively. Nothing seemed _too_ out of order. Mo took his place behind the wheel, keeping a watchful eye for Dustfinger.

"Everything will be alright, won't it, Mo?" Meggie asked.

His silence was alarming. "Yeah," he replied, with little reassurance. "Of course it will, Meggie."

It seemed like forever until they heard Elinor's voice.

"What are you doing with that knife?" she asked.

"I punctured the tires of the other cars," Dustfinger replied, taking the hint that he wasn't riding in her car.

"We've been waiting a long time, you know," she snapped.

Dustfinger settled into the passenger's seat next to Mo. Meggie recognized the glint of the blade.

"Basta's knife," he answered her inaudible question. "Quite tricky to steal as well."

Mo and Elinor started their cars. To their surprise, an additional sound pierced the still air. Meggie and the boy ducked.

"Didn't you check for guards?" Mo asked, incredulously.

"No, I didn't!" Dustfinger exclaimed. "Just drive!"

Bullets missed them as they shot out of the parking lot and drove to freedom. Mo's knuckles had turned white from clenching the wheel so tightly.

"Doesn't Elinor know about speed limits?" Mo muttered, falling behind her pace.

Dustfinger checked behind them. No visible headlights could be seen, but the trouble lay in front of them.

"Oh no…" Mo said, seeing the steam and smoke rise from under the hood. "We're overheated."

The adults looked at the hood from the side of the road. Meggie and the boy joined them momentarily.

"We'll push it into the ditch. In case they find us," Dustfinger suggested.

"We're not _walking_, are we?" Meggie asked. The car in the ditch answered her question.

Meggie trudged alongside the boy as they followed Mo and Dustfinger. "Do you still believe that this is still a dream?" she asked him.

"Yes, but I don't think it's too bad," he replied simply.

She shook her head. "I'm Meggie," she said, having forgotten to introduce herself earlier.

"Meggie," he repeated. "I'm Farid."

"Well, nice to meet you, Farid."

"I'd say the same thing, but I'll just forget when I wake up."

They eventually reached the second car, where they found Elinor cursing. Mo shook his head. She looked up.

"Overheated," he said. "What happened to you?"

"One of the front tires blew out," she replied.

"I think I've got a concussion," Ron said, whimpering. "We're not _walking_, are we?"

"Oh, shush," Harry said.

"Any other news from Hermione?" Meggie asked.

"Nope… they're still at Elinor's house," Harry replied.

"Let's hope she still has the bloody wand," Ron said, frowning. Dustfinger and Mo had pushed the car into the ditch on the stretch of road.

"Hopefully no one will spot the cars," Mo said, sighing.

"Too late for hoping," Dustfinger replied, spotting the faraway headlights. "They're tracking us down."

Elinor followed Dustfinger into the ditch. "I thought you said that you slashed their tires!" she exclaimed.

"They're not as stupid as you think they are. They can change tires," he explained, hoping to quiet the old woman down.

Farid helped Meggie climb down into the ditch. "Thank you," she said, her cheeks turning red.

"Hurry up now!" Dustfinger exclaimed. "We mustn't get caught so late in our escape!"

-x-

"Where _are_ they?" Hermione wondered aloud. It was midday and none of the escapees had come back yet. Luna and Ginny were keeping themselves occupied by following Dobby in case he tried to hit himself with one of Elinor's possessions. There was nothing else they could do to help, considering that they didn't know where they were.

Hermione sighed. She missed her story sorely. Despite her uncertainty about the inevitable battle that lay ahead, she wanted to be among her friends and second family. Here, there was still a villain and Ginny had lost her voice. Harry, Ron, and Neville were still missing. Everything was a mess, and no amount of brain power could fix it.

To ease her mind, she went into Elinor's library and selected a book off a middle shelf. Settling into the window seat, Hermione let her mind wander as she read the words. Was this how Meggie imagined Hogwarts when she read her story? It was all very strange to think about.

_There once was a princess, a beautiful princess, of a realm of long ago. But she was no ordinary princess, having spurned her obligations for her adventures instead. She would often dress down in men's clothing, tying her hair back, and galloping off toward the village that was part of her kingdom. She would sit among her people in the markets, listening to their tales and woes of living from day to day, having only the oral, vivid fairy tales to keep them sated. The princess was aware of their plights, but being only a princess made her excluded from politics. But she would not tolerate injustices and -_

She suddenly heard a crash and a yelp coming from the living room. Panicking, Hermione closed the book before throwing it down on her seat.

"Hermione!" someone yelled.

Wand raised, Hermione rushed toward the source of the yelling. The scene made her heart plunge into her stomach.

Dobby was lying unconscious, hopefully, beside one of Capricorn's men. Ginny and Luna were trying to wriggle free from their captors. The rest pointed their guns at Hermione.

"Drop it, now!" Cockerell said, motioning toward the wand. "Or we'll shoot!"

Hermione calculated her chances at escape. Though very well an empty threat, as Capricorn would probably want the escapees alive, she couldn't give up the wand. Too risky.

She raised her wand and quickly disappeared. Bullets rained against the nearly empty bookshelf.

"What are we going to tell Capricorn now?" Cockerell growled.

"We won't tell him," another growled back. "These two will be just fine."

Wordlessly, the two men holding Ginny and Luna pushed them out to the backyard. The other men came out with arms full of books. The books fell sloppily into the pile with most of their spines broken. It didn't matter for long. Cockerell lit a match and threw it onto the pile with a hideous laugh.

The fire consumed the books hungrily, wanting more. More books fed the fire until there were none left. They let it burn until the pile was mostly ashes before leaving.

"That was fun, wasn't it?" Cockerell said, limping slowly.

Ginny and Luna thrashed about some more, trying to escape their fate. Biting hadn't worked for Ginny.

"Stop squirming, loves," Cockerell said, grinning. "Don't you want to see Capricorn?"

"Not really," Luna answered.

"Well, he wants to see you."

"I doubt it," Luna started. "He didn't appreciate our help."

Cockerell laughed. "You won't be working for him, I can assure you. You pretty birds will be going straight into the cages!"

-x-

The men's trigger fingers were too slow to stop Hermione. She appeared by Capricorn's house back at the village. It was surprisingly quiet and there were no signs of guards posted around the house. Night settled around the village, giving Hermione a cover until she decided what she would do next. Flattening herself against a wall, Hermione drew in a deep breath. What was she going to do _now_? Her coin could only relay messages so far. The reminder helped Hermione push the depressing thoughts away.

_Ginny and Luna captured._

An angry voice drifted out from the second story window. It sounded an awful like Capricorn. Perhaps _this_ was what she was supposed to do next! She could let them know what Capricorn planned to do while they were safe!

There were no signs of guards around the house. Hermione entered quietly, letting all rationality go. The stairs were a bit more difficult, as every so often one would creak unnaturally. But the voices seemed to drown out the noise and Hermione was able to reach the door.

It was open wide enough to not be noticed from the hallway. Inside, Capricorn was pacing around the room while one of Capricorn's men stood nervously.

"Cockerell," Capricorn said at last. "Where are Basta and Flatnose?"

"Still looking, I'd imagine," the man replied.

"It's nearly been a day!"

"They stole two cars."

Capricorn let his right hand slide down his face. "What have you got to show, Cockerell?"

Cockerell shifted nervously. "We found two of the escaped maidservants and the creature," he replied.

"But what of the third?" Capricorn asked, calmly.

"She wasn't there when we arrived," Cockerell answered.

_Liar_ Hermione thought.

As though Cockerell had heard her thought, he turned toward the door. Hermione flattened herself against the wall. He shrugged it off, now focusing on Capricorn and _Inkheart_.

"Sir?" he started when Capricorn threw the book against a wall.

Capricorn took another book from the mantle. "Instead of using _Inkheart_, I'd like to use their own villain against them," he replied. His knuckles turned white from gripping the book so tightly. "This Lord Voldemort character is the perfect one under my rule. I'll give him Harry Potter for his service!"

Hermione had to conceal her gasp. She couldn't believe her ears. Capricorn was going to bring Voldemort here? They hadn't destroyed all the Horcruxes yet!

"I don't care about the missing girl. I need Silvertongue's daughter, Harry Potter, and Dustfinger most of all. Where the fire tamer has been, who knows. Got it?" Capricorn continued.

Cockerell nodded feverishly.

"Now go!" Capricorn yelled.

Hermione dashed into one of the empty rooms as Cockerell limped out the door. How on Earth did they beat her here? It seemed that Apparation lagged in this world. But she knew that she had to send another message and visit one of the maidservants.

_Capricorn reads HP._

Hopefully it would get the message across. A madman had their story and was planning to use it against them. She considered, briefly, to use her magical prowess to extract the book from his grasp, but it was only a fleeting thought. Capricorn was clever. She had no guarantee that she could whisk it away without trouble and the safety of her friends; just as _Inkheart_ had tempted the fire tamer, so too would_ Deathly Hallows_ hold a power over them. Hermione needed assurance that her friends were safe. Besides, he couldn't possibly risk using Darius, so reading out the Dark Lord would be suspended indefinitely, as long as Mo and Meggie were out of his clutches. She would wait for the opportune moment to reclaim her story.

More importantly, she had to find Resa to rescue Ginny and Luna now.

Sneaking out of the house was not much harder. The village was peaceful and Hermione could move freely. Eventually, she reached the maid's house where she had been previously stationed. _Bitter memories_ she thought. The door was locked but it was no match for her spells.

Hermione crept inside, hoping that Resa was still awake. She was sitting at the table, preparing food for tomorrow. When she saw Hermione, her eyebrows shot up in alarm. _The Magpie's here!_

Hermione quickly explained the details of her escape to her arrival in hushed whispers. She talked about her escape with Dobby and how Capricorn's men had found them. Resa listened with growing interest.

"Where are Ginny and Luna?" she asked.

Resa scribbled quickly. _They're in the cages. Not sure what number._

Hermione thanked her. Resa scribbled another note on the paper. _How is Dustfinger?_

"He must be with my friends that escaped. They're okay as far as I know," Hermione said.

Resa looked relieved. _The Magpie is around. You should leave before she finds you. Ginny and Luna will be fine._

Hermione was reluctant to follow Resa's advice, but she was right. They would be safer without the men searching for them. There was strength in numbers, and if the escapees came back to Elinor's house, they could go back to rescue Ginny and Luna as well as stop Capricorn from bringing Voldemort here.

Resa waved as Hermione raised her wand, disappearing before she could blink. If someone could only save _her_ from Capricorn!


	7. Bellatrix

_**Author's Note:**_

The poll 'Who should get read out of _Deathly Hallows_ next?' will be open until the final scene. Which I estimate in 3-5 chapters. So I encourage you to vote! Interesting results so far!

Again, some of the dialogue is based off of ones in _Inkheart_, or is the same. The italicized quote is from _Deathly Hallows_ on page 736. Enjoy this next chapter!

~Loligo7687

* * *

Chapter 7: Bellatrix

The lone car chasing the escapees held Basta, Flatnose, and three dogs. Capricorn would not be pleased if they returned empty-handed, so the dogs would be useful if they couldn't track them themselves. Basta and Flatnose were not pleased themselves either; going out early to reclaim prisoners wasn't ideal. But it had to be done, as Dustfinger and Silvertongue were highly sought.

"Stop the car!" Basta exclaimed. "I see one of the stolen cars!"

Flatnose gently pulled the car over to the side of the road. Both stepped out to inspect the overheated car.

"Overheated and abandoned," Basta concluded, pounding the window in frustration. "The match-stick eater took my knife, I just know it!"

"And he took your keys," Flatnose pointed out.

"Shut up and get back into the car," Basta snapped. "He's definitely the guilty party here."

They trudged back up the small incline and climbed back into the car.

"What if they went into the hills?" Flatnose suggested.

"Of course not. The other car would have came back to help them," Basta replied.

In ten minutes time, they came across the second car in another ditch. Basta fell as he tried to reach it.

"Abandoned," he muttered, bitterly. "They went into the woods I'm sure."

"Shall I get the dogs?" Flatnose asked.

"Not now, they probably haven't gone far with the girl and boy," Basta replied. "Let's check the woods."

A half hour's search yielded nothing and they decided to use the dogs to help them out. Basta yanked the dogs out of the car and guided them to the abandoned one.

"I hope this works," Flatnose said. "Else Capricorn won't be too happy."

"It will!" Basta snapped. "We'll find them in no time with the dogs."

The dogs climbed onto the seats of the car, sniffing to hold a scent. Instead, they laid idly on the seats in confusion.

"They couldn't pick up a scent!" Basta said, irately. "_He's _been feeding them cheese, no wonder they like Dustfinger! It dulls their noses!"

Flatnose shook his head. "He did all that?" he remarked. "Capricorn's not going to be happy."

"You don't have to emphasis your point!" Basta snapped, yanking the dogs out of the car.

The dogs whimpered as they led Basta and Flatnose on an unrecognizable route. All conversation between the two men ceased, whether out of Basta's moodiness or in case the escapees could hear them. Patches of thick woods caused the dogs to find an alternate route, but the path eventually beveled out into flat land and a faraway hill.

"Is that a house I see?" Flatnose asked.

"Possibly, I doubt anyone lives this far out of civilization," Basta replied. "They might have stopped to rest, so that's our best bet right now."

They made for the run-down house as the sun made its moderate debut. The climb up was sluggish, as the dogs suffered under Basta's abuse.

"Maybe if you treat them nicer, they'll like you more," Flatnose commented.

"What do you know?" Basta shot back.

"I've fed them a couple times," he replied, watching Basta kick the closest dog.

"It's the only way to motivate them!" Basta exclaimed.

When they reached the top, Basta tied the leashes to the nearest tree. He was confident that he and Flatnose could take Dustfinger and Silvertongue, while the others would just surrender right away. Flatnose seemed to share the same mentality.

"We have got to be alert," Basta said, examining the exterior of the house. "Regardless of what or what's not in there."

Flatnose nodded in agreement. "I think being quiet would work too," he replied.

Basta didn't reply, but the conversation had already given them away. As soon as they past the two large trees on either side, their attackers were upon them.

Basta tried to throw Dustfinger off of him, but the fire tamer had his height and strength against him. Neville had his hands and feet bound shortly after, then threw the tape to Harry.

"Luckily your daughter found that, otherwise we would have been in a lot of trouble," Dustfinger mused.

"I'm just glad they didn't have the dogs with them," Mo replied.

Ron, Elinor, Meggie, and Farid came outside to view the successful trap.

"What's that tape called?" Ron asked.

"Duct tape," Meggie replied. "Pretty strong for tape I'd say."

Basta cursed at Dustfinger. "Capricorn's going to have your head after he hears about this," he hissed.

Dustfinger took out Basta's knife, held it out mockingly, and cut the rabbit's foot from around his neck.

"Now you're luck-less, Basta," he said, stowing it away in his sack. "Now I've stolen your knife _and_ your luck."

"You'll all be sorry, especially you, Silvertongue," Basta yelled.

Mo hardly reacted. However, Meggie was worried. Elinor reminded them to find the road again.

"You should have taped his mouth shut as well, his vulgarities could put _me_ to shame," Elinor said.

She insisted that they follow the road again, now that the danger had passed. Eventually they'd reach decent civilization.

Farid stuck near Dustfinger, Neville, Ron, and Harry floated around the middle of the group, and Mo carried Meggie's tired body.

A hotel rose into view by midday. They all went in, gathering the reprieve of the humid day. Elinor had gone off searching for a bathroom.

When she returned, it looked like she hadn't been at Capricorn's village at all. Her hair was pinned neatly back, and Meggie thought she looked a lot younger like that.

Elinor flashed a plastic card. "Hah, not even those fools could take my credit card away!" she exclaimed.

Only Meggie and Mo understood her excitement. "What are you going to buy?" Meggie asked.

"Clothes," Elinor replied, looking at Meggie and Farid in particular. She seemed offended.

"But then we'll eat afterward, some decent food at that," she added.

Ron nodded feverously. "Yes, let's!" he said.

Dustfinger's thoughts were far away, but he followed the group nonetheless. Meggie and Farid were ushered up to Elinor, whose first purchase would include making Farid blend in. Mo lagged behind the rest.

"We cannot let the Shadow be brought to life here," Dustfinger said at last.

"I know," Mo said, softly. "That's why I've thought of an idea."

Dustfinger's expression looked hopeful, like Mo had spared him eternal punishment in this world. "What idea?" he asked.

"This had better not put any ideas in your head, but Capricorn burned all but one copy of _Inkheart_," Mo said, noticing how Dustfinger's eyes lit up. "But I'm positive there's another way to get a copy."

Meggie was too far ahead with Elinor to hear the conversation. The wizards entertained them with questions.

"What's a credit card? Sounds like something my dad would like," Ron asked.

"You can use it like money, but you have to pay later of course," Elinor explained.

"Do they serve Butterbeer here?" Neville asked.

"That's a Wizarding thing," Meggie replied. It was also a work of fiction, but she refrained from mentioning so.

Harry seemed troubled, frowning at the coin he held.

"Another message?" Ron asked.

"If I'm reading this correctly, it says that Ginny and Luna were captured," he replied, sighing.

Neville was trying to decipher it another way. "That means our return is inevitable," he concluded.

"Where's Hermione, though?" Ron said.

Meggie felt the hole she dug getting bigger and wider by the minute. But they didn't put the blame on her, not yet at least.

The troubling news ceased temporarily, for Elinor pushed them into the clothing store they reached. She left them alone while she scurried off. Meggie looked at Harry.

"Can you show them where to look?" she asked.

Harry nodded. "Tell Elinor we'll meet by the dressing rooms," he replied.

"I will," Meggie said.

Farid stared at her, confused. She made a face. "I'll help you find new clothes," she said, grabbing him by the wrist. He didn't resist her touch.

Meggie let go when they arrived at the right section. She began shifting through the racks of clothing.

"Do you like it here?" she asked.

Farid pondered the question. "It's quite busy and loud here," he began. "But I feel a lot safer than in my own story."

She smiled. He was fond of Dustfinger, whether the fire tamer liked it or not. Meggie held out two solid-colored shirts in front of him. Farid kept looking at her.

"What?" she asked, blushing.

"Nothing," he mumbled.

Elinor's sudden arrival made Meggie jump. "I picked you two out outfits, all paid for," she said, beaming.

Farid took his new clothes gratefully, heading to the bathroom to change on Elinor's directions. Meggie scrunched up her nose.

"Oh, I should have known you wouldn't have liked it. You're Resa's daughter," Elinor said, sighing.

"No, it's lovely, Elinor," Meggie replied, taking it before she ran off with it. "The wizards said they'd meet by the dressing rooms."

By some miracle, Elinor had guessed her size perfectly. She had picked out a summer dress to help combat the heat and leggings made of thin material accompanied it. When she found the men's dressing rooms, the wizards, Farid, and Elinor were waiting for her.

"Let's go eat!" Elinor announced. "I hope Mortimer and the fire tamer haven't wandered too far."

Mo and Dustfinger were conversing outside. Her father nodded at Elinor. She didn't question it.

They found a small restaurant to eat in. Ron gladly ate, but Dustfinger picked at his meal. Elinor got up and didn't return for some time. When she finally returned, she was holding a piece of paper.

"I got what you asked for," Elinor said, handing Mo the paper. "Fenoglio's address and phone number are there."

"Who's Fenoglio?" Meggie asked.

Mo sighed. "Fenoglio's the man who wrote _Inkheart_," he began. "I figured that if anyone should have a copy, it would be him. He doesn't live too far away from here, so I thought we might visit him."

"Today?" Meggie replied, disappointed. Mo nodded. Elinor spoke again.

"I'm not coming," she announced. "Too much adventure for me. I need to get back to my books."

"I'll come along," Harry said. "Maybe I could be of use."

"Neville and I decided that we'd stay with Elinor in case Hermione is there, if that's alright," Ron said, and Elinor agreed on the spot.

Mo stood up. "Then it's settled. Dustfinger, Farid, Harry, Meggie, and I will go to Fenoglio's," he concluded, looking satisfied.

Meggie frowned, though Mo assured her that they could go back to Elinor's after visiting the author. She wondered if this was only about her mother now, not for Dustfinger or Ginny and Luna.

Dustfinger had left the table, and Mo and Elinor were conversing about rental cars. Farid was eying the strawberries on her plate.

"You don't like them?" he asked.

"Not hungry," she replied.

He motioned toward the green tops strewn about his plate. "Maybe they're sour. They're not as sweet as you are," he remarked.

Mo and Elinor rounded them up and herded them toward the rental shop. Elinor paid with her credit card and gave a set of keys to Mo.

"Be careful, Mortimer," Elinor said.

"I will," he replied.

The wizards were giving their goodbyes as well.

"If Hermione comes back, we'll let you know by coin," Ron said. "Bye mate."

"Alright, please do," Harry replied. "Bye Ron, bye Neville."

"See ya, Harry," Neville said.

Ron and Neville followed Elinor toward the rental car. Meggie and the rest stood silently. Dustfinger reappeared in the next few minutes.

"Where have you been?" Mo asked him.

"Not important," Dustfinger replied. "I just want you to understand that I want to know if there's a copy. I don't want him to see me."

"Why are you afraid?" Meggie asked.

He faced her. "Would you face the man who wrote you?" he asked.

"Maybe," she replied. "Why, do you know what happens to you?"

Dustfinger shook his head. "No, and I don't plan to find out," he said. "Do _you_ know the end of your story, princess?"

"I'd rather like to know myself," Harry added in. "I don't want to walk into death without saving the Wizarding World."

Meggie kept her mouth shut.

"Maybe we can send you all back into your rightful stories," Mo said. "But we must talk with Fenoglio first!"

Harry, Meggie, and Farid climbed into the backseat. Dustfinger sat in the passenger's seat while Mo started the engine of the rental car. Then they were off.

In the backseat, Harry and Meggie discussed Wizarding things such as Butterbeer and Aragog. Farid had a question or two every so often. The chatter lasted for an hour and stopped when Mo pulled into the village at last. He soon found a parking space, eager to find Fenoglio as soon as possible.

"You can leave it unlocked, I'll be staying here," Dustfinger said. "And remember what you promised!"

"Yes, I remember," Mo replied.

Farid stayed put. Harry and Meggie joined Mo as they searched for house numbers.

After walking a bit, Mo spotted Fenoglio's house with excitement. Meggie, however, was nervous. She never met an author before. What were they like?

Mo knocked on the door. Meggie's words were stuck on her tongue. The man standing in the doorway looked nothing like she truly imagined. He had to be in his mid-sixties, though his dark hair did not reveal that. His face was wrinkly, yet standing there he looked impressive.

"Yes? Can I help you?" he asked.

"Signor Fenoglio? I'm Mortimer Folchart. This is my daughter, Meggie, and her friend Harry," Mo said, motioning toward them. "We've come to inquire about a book you've written."

Fenoglio's face didn't look too welcoming. "I've written many books. If you've come to ask me questions about it, I'm afraid I don't have time to answer them."

A small girl and boy appeared at the doorway. The boy clung to the author's leg while the girl whispered something to him.

"Pippo's eaten all the chocolate chips?" Fenoglio said. "You better go and find him, for he's expecting trouble."

She disappeared. Mo tried again. "No, not that. I've actually come to ask if you had spare copies of a particular one. I'd happily buy it," he said.

"Oh really? And which one are you looking for?" Fenoglio asked.

"_Inkheart_," Mo replied.

"_Inkheart_? I wrote that many, many years ago. Curious you should ask," he said, pondering. "You aren't one of those collectors, are you? The ones that purchase rare books just to show them off?"

Mo shook his head, now smiling. "No, I'm not. I just want to be able to read it again," he replied.

The girl returned, whispering again.

"Tell him he needs a new hiding spot. He always hides there," Fenoglio said.

The author seemed much friendlier now that he had talked with Mo. "Well, please come in," Fenoglio said. "I might be able to help you out."

Meggie and Harry glanced at each other before following Mo inside.

-x-

Cockerell, despite his limp, had dragged Darius all the way into Capricorn's house. He knew what he was ordered to do but he was far too nervous and unwilling.

"Stop making this so difficult, Darius," Cockerell growled, shoving him inside.

"B-But I don't want t-to read," Darius said, pitifully.

Capricorn welcomed them both with a crooked grin. Darius stood as straight as he could, bowing his head gently.

"I grow desperate without Silvertongue," Capricorn said, bored. "I need you to read for me, Darius. Remember yesterday's example."

He shoved a book in Darius' hands. The words were foreign to him. This was not _Inkheart_ or any other book he had read from before.

"Read page seven hundred and thirty six, starting with this paragraph," Capricorn ordered, pointing.

"But sir, are y-you sure?" Darius replied.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Capricorn responded, sounding impatient.

Darius began to read:

"_What will happen to your children when I've killed you?" taunted Bellatrix, as mad as her master, capering as Molly's curses danced around her. "When Mummy's gone the same way as Freddie?"_

"_You – will – never – touch – our – children – again!" screamed Mrs. Weasley._

_Bellatrix laughed, the same exhilarated laugh her cousin Sirius had given as he toppled backward through the veil, and suddenly Harry knew what was going to happen before it did."_

Capricorn smiled. "Well-done, Darius! You managed to keep her intact!" he exclaimed.

The woman's hair was curly and askew on her head. Her face was gaunt and pale, and her powerful eyes met Capricorn's own. She reached for her wand, but it was missing.

"Who are you?" she asked, balling up her fists. "Where am I?"

"Bellatrix," Capricorn greeted her, in his lovely voice. "I saved you from certain death. You're in my world."

"My death?" she replied, incredulously.

"Yes, you meet your demise in that very book Darius is holding," he started. "I am Capricorn, and ask for your allegiance to me for sparing you,"

"I only serve my master, the Dark Lord," she scoffed.

"But of course," Capricorn said. "I am planning to save him as well, as his fate is written as death."

Bellatrix approached Darius, yanking the book from his hands. He shrunk back. She read the open pages, and skimmed further on.

"If you save him, I will work for you," she said at last.

"Excellent," Capricorn replied. He offered her a hawthorn wand. "A gift for losing yours."

She took the wand, finding it oddly familiar. Twirling it through the air, she voiced her happiness though an evil cackle.

"First order of business," he began. "There are two lovely ladies waiting for you in the cages."

Her eyes lit up. Bellatrix followed Cockerell. She only needed to hear the names Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley.


	8. Water and Fire

_**Author's Note:**_

It's been a few months... I know I suck. School's been real tough with my labs, but I've managed to get the next chapter written!

Anyone get their midnight premiere tickets for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One yet? I did! So excited. c:

Again, please vote in the poll to see a character in the final confrontation! Top characters will be considered, so vote!

And as always, some things are from _Inkheart_, a few lines from _Deathly Hallows_, yup! It's been a couple years since I read _Deathly Hallows_, so I apologize if I've gotten something wrong. Otherwise, I'll loop it under the AU category.

Thanks again to all those reviewed, favorited, and alerted, and for sticking with the story this long! Much appreciated. c:

Loligo7687

* * *

Chapter 8: Water and Fire

The awkward silence in the rental car was well, awkward. Elinor was mulling over the fact that she had to buy a rental car to go home. Ron and Neville were thinking about Hermione and Luna, respectively. Then there was the small longing of home, of Hogwarts, and how the rest of their friends and families were in the impending battle. Additional Horcruxes needed to be destroyed. It was a lot for two teenagers to cope with.

"What's a Horcrux, Ron? I heard you use the term before," Neville asked. Elinor momentarily lost control of the wheel, yanking it back hard to stay on the road. Ron bumped his head on the roof.

"Probably the vilest piece of magic ever dreamt up," she responded with disgust.

Ron rubbed the top of his head. "Aye, that's true Elinor. I suppose it won't be harmful to tell here. Hermione explained it well. A Horcrux is an ordinary object – say a locket or cup – that hides a piece of your soul," he replied, solemnly.

"And how do you manage that?" Neville asked, interested.

"You have to split your soul, albeit painfully, with an evil deed. Like murder."

"So Voldemort has a Horcrux?"

"Well, seven. As of now, three have been destroyed."

"What about the rest?"

"In the process of finding them..."

"So the only way Harry can defeat Voldemort is if the Horcruxes are destroyed? He's immortal!"

"Precisely, Neville."

"If only you knew," Elinor mumbled.

The subject drew more silence afterward. Elinor's house appeared in ten minute's time, looking no different than it was when they had first left. But they couldn't be more wrong.

Ron and Neville followed Elinor toward the front door, the silence still trailing behind them. Elinor went to place her key in the door's lock, but the door swung open at the slight pressure applied.

"Someone's been in the house!" Elinor cried out.

"Capricorn's—" Neville started, stopping when Elinor rushed into her house.

"Is she crazy?" Ron wondered aloud.

"Elinor!" Neville said, following after her. Ron sighed.

They finally found her in the backyard. She had sunk to her knees in the grass, staring at the piles of ashes left behind by Capricorn's men. The mess left in the house confirmed that numerous books had met their untimely deaths.

"We're sorry, Elinor," Neville said at last, but she had already began crying by the time he had found the words. Ron and Neville looked at each other awkwardly. _What do we do now?_

It took the better part of an hour to coax Elinor back into the house. Ron was figuring out how to work the stove and kettle while Neville was retelling stories to cheer her up. He opted for Slug Club anecdotes. With Elinor's guidance, Ron got the stove working and poured her a hot cup of tea.

"You know what story I want to hear," Ron started. The Slug Club was a sore subject for him. "What happened while we were away from Hogwarts?"

Neville's smile faded. "Ah, I never really got to explain before we were whisked away," he began. "Did the book explain or tell it?"

Elinor shook her head.

"No matter," Neville said. "It's a long, terrible story to tell. However, I'm willing to talk about a small portion of it. The rest should wait… until after the war."

The images engraved in his mind would not pass so soon. Neville didn't want to plant them in anybody else's. They were haunting, troublesome memories. If he lived to see a freed Wizarding World (pending if they could get back), he would tell the rest when he was ready.

Ron nodded slowly. "That's fine, Neville," was all he said.

Neville pondered a bit before starting. "Well, as you know, Snape took over as Headmaster. Thanks to, of course, a corrupt Ministry of Magic. They oversaw the registering process just to get into Hogwarts. Pureblooded students were accepted almost immediately. Half-blooded students were admitted also, but were frowned upon. Even then a lot of kids were pulled out by their parents out of fear. And rightly so.

"Due to the registering process, the student population had decreased significantly. Years were clumped together in rare instances, as well as Houses.

"There were no true laws or rules that we had to abide by. The obvious ones, yes. But anyone could hex you in the corridors, Slytherins mostly, and get away with it. This was because of Snape's hiring of the Carrows, a brother-sister duo of Death Eaters.

"The sister, Alecto, taught Muggle Studies – well, she liked to use the derogatory word instead. Her brother Amycus taught Defense Against the Dark Arts, but it wasn't called that either. Classes were nothing more than Death Eater propaganda and stress on blood purity. Attendance was mandatory. Punishment was not an option. We soon learned that after they made an example out of Dean for skipping class.

"One day I couldn't take it, all the hatred and intolerance of Muggles spewing from her mouth. I asked her how much Muggle blood she and her brother had. The gash on my cheek was from that remark."

Ron's mouth fell slightly open. "Blimey, Neville, there's a time and a place for getting a smart mouth," he said, in awe.

"You didn't see her. You wouldn't have stood it either. The thing is, it helps when people stand up to them, it gives everyone hope," Neville replied simply. "Plus that's the worst they could do. They weren't going to kill us, not going to spill our _precious_ blood."

"What happened when Luna was kidnapped?" Elinor blurted out.

"Oh, Ginny and I were quite sad at first," Neville started. "But we also figured that she was probably a little safer away from the castle, well, we could only hope."

Sighs went all around the table. Elinor looked at the clock. "I should prepare dinner, it's getting late," Elinor exclaimed.

She seemed a lot happier, even after Neville's depressing account of Hogwarts. Maybe Elinor appreciated the insight. She even laughed at the table.

"She did _what_?" Ron said, looking Confunded.

"Ginny wailed on Crabbe during class after he called her a not-so-nice name. And I don't mean 'Crucio' or a Bat-Bogey Hex, I mean her fists. A bunch of us held off the other Slytherins," Neville started. "Carrow had to interfere, but not before Crabbe's face was bloodied and bruised. Worth a week's detention, I think. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

Ron was both proud and terrified of his sister.

Neville said no more about his experiences for the night. They agreed on an early bed time to recover from the previous nights. Ron reluctantly let Neville have the guest room – he was working on being less selfish. The sofa wasn't really _that_ bad…

Not that he had time to think about it, as his mind drifted to sleep when his head hit the pillow.

-x-

Hermione found herself outside Elinor's room. She could tell it was occupied from the loud snores being emitted through the slightly ajar door. The soft chimes of the clock downstairs drew Hermione's attention to the fact that it was midnight.

_The cost of Apparating_ she thought.

Neville was sleeping peacefully in the guest room. He was smiling. Hermione was envious.

She went downstairs to see if anyone else had returned to Elinor's house. It was silent. Hermione considered finding blankets to make a temporary bed, but the figure lying on the sofa turned and murmured her name. _Er-my-knee._ It was unmistakable. Thankfully the dark covered her reddened cheeks. Was this a regular habit?

Groping through the darkness, she finally found the lamp light chain. It illuminated Ron's silhouette. Hermione felt bad waking him, but…

"Ron!"

"Hermione?"

She had not anticipated such a quick reply from Ron, a notorious heavy sleeper. He sat up, blinking and rubbing his eyes to rid of the sleepy haze.

"I had a dream that we were back at the Burrow," Ron started. "There was no Voldemort, no threat of terror haunting us. It was wonderful. You and I were winning at Quidditch against Ginny and Harry, surprisingly…"

Now Hermione was really feeling guilty for disturbing his dream. She should have waited for morning to surprise then. _And_ _we were winning Quidditch, _surprisingly_?_

"Oi, Hermione, it really is you! I've been worried all day after you sent us that message. Where have you been?" Ron said, startled. His brain finally processed what his eyes were seeing.

He… was worried about her? Ron never said anything of the sort, well, at least not directly.

"I was eavesdropping at Capricorn's village," Hermione replied. "Wait, didn't you get my latest message?"

Ron shook his head. "Neville has the coin, not me."

"Well, Capricorn's going to read out of _Harry Potter_," she continued, sighing. "He wants Voldemort here."

Hermione's strong exterior was merely a façade. Her emotional state was at its limits end. The news she brought was far too upsetting for her to handle.

"Are you crying, Hermione?" Ron asked.

Didn't he hear her say that Voldemort could come to this world and endanger them again? And what kind of question was that? Of course she was, she could feel them run down her cheeks. Hermione loved Ron to pieces but she didn't know what to do with him sometimes.

She flung her arms around his neck, much like the time she thought Buckbeak had been executed. Ron's shirt conveniently served as a place where she could dry her eyes. His arms closed awkwardly around her.

"Oh, Ron," she breathed. "It's just so tough."

Dear Merlin, there was a reason why Ron's hair was her Amortentia. How could she think of that now? There were too many thoughts reeling through Hermione's mind to make clear the logical answer to their situation. Many were petty rambles that popped in her head.

"Hermione," Ron said, drawing her attention back. "If you go to sleep, it'll make things a lot better in the morning."

Maybe he was right. Hermione brought her arms back to her side with a sniff. She used her sleeve to dry the remaining tears.

"Alright, I was going to find some blankets before," she replied, turning around. Ron caught her wrist.

"Take the sofa," he insisted.

She shook her head. "No, you've already been sleeping there. There's a place in the library I can sleep in. Really."

"Are you entirely sure?"

"Completely."

"Positive?"

"Positive, Ron, really. I'm not being stubborn on purpose. Good night."

She got the last word. He watched her leave, a heavy sigh following. The stab at chivalry didn't seem to work. Sometimes he wondered if he was competing with books, not Krum or Harry. Or maybe she was too distraught to notice.

Tomorrow was a new day. Once Ginny and Luna were saved – and Dobby, he was nowhere to be found – they could get Meggie and her father to read them back. Hopefully. As of now, it didn't look too good.

-x-

Bellatrix was given a room to stay in for the night, as well as a hearty meal the next morning. Cockerell was in charge of catering to her every whim, which greatly annoyed him. Basta and Flatnose had not returned to the village yet, so he had to listen to Capricorn's ranting as well. If not for the gold that had rained from the sky, he might have considered finding a way back into _Inkheart _to escape this unequal and unfair servitude.

He led her to the cages, as instructed by Capricorn. Cockerell jimmied the lock with a piece of thin metal, since the Magpie was nowhere to be found. The old hag was now in charge of all the damn keys. Eventually the lock went and dropped to the ground with a loud thud. Pushing the door open, he backed away to let her pass.

"Report back to Capricorn when you're done," he said, gruffly.

Bellatrix made no reply of acknowledgement for her assignment. These… _Mudbloods_ were constantly ordering her around without explaining; her confusion and anxiety grew each passing moment she stayed outside of the book. He could be lying to her. She was flesh and blood. But the words were true, the ones she read. The Dark Lord was going to be dead at the end, as was she. And it did seem he wanted her master in this world, for whatever ends he was going to achieve. Bellatrix could figure out a way to trick Capricorn if he was to double cross her.

And what of her end? Killed by Molly Weasley, the blood traitor? Shameful.

With that knowledge in mind, she was going to taunt and squeeze every ounce of information out of the Lovegood and Weasley girls to please Capricorn. The wand she had at her side would help persuade them reasonably. Yeah, right. Their Mudblood friend could attest to Bellatrix's wonderful method of torture.

As she entered, she heard Luna's soft chattering. They had been served breakfast as well, but the plates and utensils had not been collected yet. Both squinted until their eyes adjusted, at which point Luna had dropped her fork in surprise. Bellatrix reveled in the scared and helpless looks that they adorned, making her ego swell with pride. Her presence was still feared.

"At last, we meet again," Bellatrix started, wearing a crooked smile. "You left without saying goodbye, Miss Lovegood."

Luna flinched. "How did you get here?" she asked, swallowing her fear.

"The same way as you, darling, I presume," she replied. "But I'm not here to discuss trivial, petty things. I need some very valuable information."

The redhead had her hands balled up into fists. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she was held back.

"Cat got your tongue, Weasley?" she purred.

"Her voice was lost on the way here," Luna explained. "She can't say a word."

"And am I supposed to believe such a filthy lie?" Bellatrix spat back, her arm extending for Luna's long, blonde hair. Her grip was so violent that Luna cried out in pain. She pulled tighter. "_Where is Harry Potter_?"

Ginny reacted like a true Gryffindor;_ even if_ she was powerless without her voice, she could still act to protect her best friend. _And_ _even if _the attacker was Bellatrix Lestrange, a powerful and cruel witch. Unforgivables were at the tip of her tongue. But undauntedly did Ginny stride over to the Death Eater and hold Basta's knife to her throat.

Bellatrix cackled in amusement. "What do you want, Weasley?" she asked. _The poor girl should have stabbed me at the chance…_

Ginny mouthed the words to Luna. "Let me go," Luna said, wincing.

Bellatrix did so, with Luna retracting back to her seat. "What else?"

"She wants you to go to hell."

"Manners, Weasley. That's no way to speak to an authority figure," she mused.

"And we're leaving, also."

Luna stood, moving past Ginny for the door. Ginny backed away as well, but it was a mistake she paid dearly for. She hadn't counted on Bellatrix having a wand.

"_Crucio_!" Bellatrix yelled, a crazed smile adding to her terrible appearance.

Ginny crumpled to the floor, the knife sliding off to the side. Luna kicked it out of view, though that was the least of her problems. There was no sounds of pain, of shrieking, no satisfaction that Bellatrix received other than the red head's writhing on the ground. She had to do something, and quick.

"I told you she couldn't talk," Luna said, loudly.

Bellatrix ignored her, instead casting another torturing spell.

"He's only using you, you know," she tried again.

"What's this mindless blathering, Lovegood?" Bellatrix snapped, rolling her eyes.

"Capricorn," she began. "He's only in it for his own personal gain. You're a pawn, Bellatrix, nothing more."

"Not really, he'll be acquainting me with the Dark Lord once more," she smiled. "And all I have to do is torture you brats for information. Easy enough."

Luna's eyes widened. _Not good. _"We know nothing, we weren't with Harry when we were captured."

"Oh dear."

"What?"

Bellatrix laughed cruelly. "You two will make nice ransoms, I'm afraid. If you can't tell us where he is, I'll make him come to us."

Luna's eyes widened even more so. _Oh no. Oh no. Oh no._

She stepped over Ginny's body without care and parted without another word. They heard the lock click back into place. Luna rushed to Ginny's side and helped her sit up.

Ginny mouthed words again. _This can't be good. He'll come for us. She knows it._

Capricorn was quite pleased with the news. "What an excellent idea, of course," he praised her. "Send one of my men to the woman's house with the message, and with only that intent. The old woman is bound to come back to her house, and hopefully the boy as well. But I'm afraid that would all be too stupid for them, unfortunately."

Bellatrix smirked. She'd be reunited soon with her Dark Lord. For now, Luna's words echoed in her mind. She had earlier suspected such a thing, just as long as he didn't try to double cross her. Right. _I have to keep repeating that in my mind._

"It shall be done," she replied, turning sharply. _Now where's Cockerell…_


	9. The Book Doctor and the Wordsmith

_**Author's Note:**_

This is the longest chapter to date! Between updates, I've restructured the later chapters and what they contain, so this moves the plot a little bit. The time lag/confusion should be caught up (as noted by the coin message) and other gray areas (wand allegiances, Apparation, etc. etc.). Some of it might be a cop out, but it's the best way I can explain it. ;D

Chapter 14 is going to be the 'showdown' chapter, and you have until then to vote on who you want to see appear out of Deathly Hallows. So I urge you to vote! The top three choices will be considered. :3

As always, some passages are paraphrased/taken directly from _Inkheart_, as Cornelia Funke is amazing. Enjoy!

~Lucy

* * *

Chapter 9: The Book Doctor and the Wordsmith

Fenoglio led them into the living room, his leg being occupied by another nephew. A shriek came from the kitchen, however, diverting the old man's attention down the dark and narrow hallway.

"Paula!" he called out. He made a loud noise to voice his disapproval as they entered the small kitchen. "Pippo! He really did eat all the chocolate chips."

Fenoglio sighed. Meggie figured he meant the cake sitting on the counter, the one filled with holes, much like the holes in Swiss cheese or a leaf ravaged by caterpillars.

"I was going to offer it to our guests. Well. Would you all care for a piece, despite the lack of chocolate?" he asked them.

"I don't mind," Meggie replied.

Harry nodded. "I don't mind either."

"Just the book," Mo said, hastily.

"Alright. Paula, Pippo, serve our guests," Fenoglio said. Pippo, still nowhere to be found, remained silent. With a somewhat gentle reminder, a hand holding two plates appeared out of thin air from the bottom cabinet. Paula took them from him and cut the cake, giving Harry and Meggie their pieces. They thanked her.

"Lovely, now, if you'll follow me, we can discuss your proposal," Fenoglio started to say. "But I will mention that I do not possess any copies, as they were stolen from the museum I donated them to. A shame, really. Illustrated editions and the like, as well as the original manuscript!"

"Stolen, of course," Mo said, crestfallen.

Meggie watched her father's face fall, a half-smile riddled with regret. Fenoglio sat on the loveseat across from the sofa where they sat. "Of course? I'm rather curious to ask why it is of interest to you, in fact, I won't allow you to leave until I get an answer!" he remarked.

Mo considered the question. "My copy of _Inkheart_ was a very special edition as well. It was stolen from my possession."

"Go on, tell your story. My curiosity has been piqued."

Meggie knew Mo would tailor his story to exclude certain details, lest he forget his promise to Dustfinger. "It's not a very long one, but I restore books for a living. Old books needing a new spine and cover, then selling them. I liked _Inkheart_ so much that I kept it. Since my copy was stolen, I asked a friend who loves rare books and she suggested the author. And so we're here now."

"Fascinating," Fenoglio started, rubbing his chin. "But it isn't the whole story. I can smell a good story miles away, so no need to keep it to yourself. Do continue!"

Pippo came into the living room and climbed onto the old man's lap. "Aren't you going to punish me?" he asked, as if challenging the author to drum up a sentence. The boy glanced over at Meggie and Harry with a mischievous grin.

Fenoglio set the boy along. "Perhaps later," he replied, winking.

"Oh, but you said you'd tie knots in my nose," Pippo said, disappointed.

"Yes, yes, all sorts of knots, now run off until I have time for you," Fenoglio said impatiently, shooing him with his hands. "I have a story to hear!"

Pippo ran out, being followed by the other boy named Rico. However, during Mo's extended silence, Paula claimed Fenoglio next. She was quiet, but she stared inquisitively at Harry. He smiled back and looked away.

"I've promised to keep someone's identity secret in this book. Dustfinger will murder me if he finds out, though," Mo said at last, radiating a guilty look.

Fenoglio seemed to have discarded Mo's subtle hinting. "Dustfinger? I had a character named Dustfinger, in _Inkheart_ no less! Tragic story. His death scene was the hardest to write. I was welling up while writing it!"

Meggie choked on the piece of cake. Dustfinger's fate was death? Did he really write it so?

Fenoglio continued on. "Death scenes are most often the hardest to write. I thought I did his justice, though. I'm very proud of it."

"He dies? Mo, did you know that?" Meggie asked, horrified.

"Of course, Meggie, I've read the entire book."

"You didn't tell him?"

"He doesn't want to know."

Meggie remembered the conversation before they left the car. Dustfinger had been adamant about staying behind and fine with ignorance of his fate in _Inkheart_.

Fenoglio seemed more curious and understanding of the subject at hand. Meggie turned to him. "Who kills him? Was it Basta?"

"Heavens, no. But Basta! One of the best villains I've ever dreamt up. A nasty man but also a superstitious one. Nothing compared to Capricorn and the Shadow, of course. The man doesn't even enjoy his own cruelty, nor does the creature deserve such a friendly name. Such dark characters!"

"Then was it Flatnose? Cockerell? Or the Shadow?"

"My, you remember their names! I usually forget… no, not at all. One of Capricorn's men has a habit of killing small creatures. Dustfinger has this tame marten as his companion, so the man tries to kill the marten. However, Dustfinger dies in the attempt to save his furry friend."

"His name wasn't even mentioned, Meggie," Mo cut in. "A group of Capricorn's men were hunting Gwin. And I bet that man is still waiting for him."

Meggie felt cheated. Dustfinger was killed by a random man? How did it do justice? The poor man! But she was about to feel more cheated…

"That's terrible!" she replied, frowning. "So who killed Capricorn?"

"No one," Fenoglio replied.

"No one?" Meggie exclaimed.

"No one!" the author said, bemused and troubled by her look. "Don't look at me like that! Even the most innocent men die and the evil ones get away with it. That's the harsh reality of the world, I'm afraid."

"Does Basta survive too, then?"

"Of course. The Shadow as well. I couldn't kill off my best villains, no. But I very much prefer the humanoid ones, Capricorn and Basta most. A very nasty duo indeed. My worst critics claimed that they were simply too cruel!"

Meggie asked no more questions. Each answer horrified her. Perhaps it had been best for Dustfinger to ignore his fate, a fate woven with permanent penmanship. He was in a hurry to meet a knife. Meggie pitied him, almost to the point where she forgave his betrayal.

Mo looked pained. "Would you like to meet them?" he asked simply.

"Goodness, no!" Fenoglio exclaimed, nearly scaring Paula off his lap.

"Well, we did – Meggie, Harry, myself – and Dustfinger."

"Harry Potter?" Paula cried out, leaping off her grandfather's lap like a rabbit.

"What!" Fenoglio said, shocked. "Harry Potter? Dustfinger?"

Paula returned with a book in her hands – _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ – and Meggie's face fell. She observed Harry looking stunned and unable to confirm the little girl's suspicions.

"He's the one you read about!" she exclaimed, handing the book over to Fenoglio. "That's Harry!"

-x-

Despite having the best night's rest since she arrived, Hermione was the first to wake up at Elinor's house. Her bed had been the window seat in the library; it was quite comfortable if she scrunched up her knees a little. Though Ron had offered her the sofa, a noble act indeed, she sought the comfort of Elinor's books. Books that had gotten her through rough times; they made her laugh when no one else could and comforted her when her peers poked fun at her. Though, to her surprise, she saw the overturned shelves, broken spines and glass, and scattered pages strewn across the room in the morning light. Hermione was horrified.

As softly as she could, Hermione made her way toward the kitchen to make herself breakfast. It had been… two days since her last meal? The days in this world meshed together, and besides, pure adrenaline had served her well since Capricorn's men had interrupted any chances of a meal. But back at Elinor's at last, Hermione could hope to relax without fear of Capricorn or his men. She even forgot about the villain's plan to bring You-Know-Who to this world.

Rummaging through Elinor's cabinets had yielded enough food to last a few weeks. Odd for a woman who, presumably, lived alone. Hermione put a tea kettle over the stove to boil while turning to the refrigerator to find eggs and milk. Having the benefit of enjoying both the Muggle and Wizarding worlds afforded her useful and practical skills. Cooking, with and without magic, was one.

Ron often joked about Hermione being matured by age eleven, but it wasn't far from the truth. Her mother had bought her a cookbook when she turned twelve. Baking soon became a favorite hobby, and even her parents preferred her cooking to their own. Her parents… Hermione started welling up.

To take her mind off them, Hermione assembled the ingredients needed to prepare eggs, sausage, pancakes, and toast. She anticipated the others to join her for breakfast, _especially _Ron. Hopefully, Elinor wouldn't mind her cooking.

Hermione hadn't noticed the presence at the table when she turned to set the plates and glasses. "Oh – Neville!" she exclaimed.

Neville rubbed his eyes. "I thought I smelled sausages, Hermione," he said. "Hermione!" He looked relieved.

"Well, I hope you're hungry," she mused.

While buttering the toast, Hermione recounted her tale to Neville, starting with the part where they were first separated. He listened intently to her chilling account of nearly getting shot by Capricorn's men. Here, Elinor joined them for breakfast; not at all minding that Hermione was cooking (she actually looked grateful). She continued the story with her Apparation observations and what her eavesdropping on Capricorn and Cockerell had yielded.

"You've got to be kidding!" Neville cried out, startling Hermione. "Bringing Voldemort here? What will that accomplish?"

"He wants to take over this world with Voldemort and that's why they want Harry. To incur favor," replied Hermione. "Who knows what Darius could do!"

"We've got to tell Harry! Warn him!"

"I sent a message via coin yesterday."

Neville gave her a sheepish smile. "I must have fallen asleep before you sent it."

"I'm just glad you were able to get the coins to me. It was such a brilliant idea."

The tea kettle sounded with a loud whistle. The sausages were nearly done but the pancakes needed to be flipped over. Elinor and Neville thanked her for the rest of the food.

"Are… Luna and Ginny okay?" Neville asked, hesitantly.

Hermione contemplated her answer while munching on her toast. "As far as I know, Neville. There's no reason for Capricorn to harm them."

"No telling what a madman will do," Elinor muttered.

In addition to their current woes, they were unaware of the message being delivered personally from Capricorn's men. The door frame gave out under a powerful kick, crying out from the first intrusion. The bang made Hermione stiffen with fear; her first instinct was to pull out the wand and aim it toward the direction of the noise. The noise was followed by a loud declaration of 'Ow!' _Ron!_ she thought.

Hermione locked eyes with Neville briefly before hurrying out of the kitchen. She found Ron groaning on the ground beside the couch.

"Ron! What's wrong? What happened?" Hermione asked, kneeling and placing a hand on his shoulder out of concern.

"Blimey, Hermione. I heard the door cave in and it startled me awake, and I fell off the sofa. Bloody hell," Ron said, sitting up.

Hermione heaved a sigh of relief and tried to suppress a giggle. "I was just concerned for your well-being, _Ronald_," she mused.

"Thanks, Hermione," he murmured, reaching for her hand.

Neville rushed back into the living room with a note. "Guys, they left a note!" he exclaimed.

"Neville!" Hermione scolded him. His reckless bravery could have caused him serious injury. She pulled away from Ron's hand. "What does it say?"

Neville scanned it, unaffected by her tone. "They want Harry, as you said, as collateral for Luna and Ginny!" he replied.

"First my books, now my door-" Elinor wailed from the other room. Ron and Neville grimaced.

"That's obviously out of the question," Hermione started to say. "We'll rescue Luna and Ginny by other means necessary."

"Warn Harry all the same," Ron cautioned. "And how are we going to rescue my sister and Luna? Apparation?"

She shook her head. "It alters with this world's time – remember the first time? And yes, I'll warn Harry – again."

The coin gleamed the last message in the light. She decided to write 'Beware Capricorn' and felt it warm in her hand.

"What we could do is risk the time alteration. Hermione, we can't _drive_ there because we don't know where it is, and we certainly can't escape a second time," Ron said at last.

Neville nodded in agreement. "Maybe we could get our wands back too!" he suggested.

The hazel* wand did feel foreign in her hands. Having their own wands would prove most useful, and so long as Harry was out of Capricorn's grasp, time was no factor. Though the hazel wand, which she was positive belonged to Ginny, responded to her perfectly, the rules were once again gray when it came to magic in this world. Technically, she shouldn't have control over that wand. Still, Hermione was convinced that they needed to proactive about the situation.

"Alright, we'll do it," Hermione sighed. Ron and Neville looked satisfied. "But not before breakfast is done!"

At the mention of breakfast, Ron's eyes lit up. "I thought I smelled sausages!" he exclaimed. _Boys _Hermione thought.

Elinor was consoled during the rest of breakfast by Hermione, who promised to repair the front door and the shelves in the library, although the books were too far gone to salvage. Though Elinor did not want anything to do with Capricorn, she agreed to visit Fenoglio in hopes of finding Mo, Meggie, and Harry.

"Thank you, Elinor," Hermione said at last. "We really appreciate everything that you've done."

Elinor still couldn't believe that she was housing and talking to her beloved Harry Potter characters. "It's no problem at all, really," was all she said.

Repairing Elinor's items before Apparating, Hermione returned to the kitchen and glanced toward Neville and Ron. "Ready?" she asked.

"Ready," Ron said, clasping her left hand. She flushed pink.

"Ready, Hermione," Neville replied, clinging awkwardly to her right.

Hermione took a deep breath, and by the time she finished flicking her wand, they vanished. Elinor was left alone. She wondered briefly if it had been an elaborate dream, but thought better of it as she hurried out to the rental car.

-x-

"Harry Potter?" Fenoglio repeated, examining the book Paula gave him. He then examined Harry. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Mo cut in, to Meggie's surprise. "My daughter read him out."

Meggie shot Mo a look. He murmured, "It'll help our case, without Dustfinger."

Meggie wasn't sure if she liked Mo being so obsess over _Inkheart_, not like this. But if it made her father happy, then she wouldn't impede.

"Quite accidentally," Meggie spoke up. Mo looked relieved.

"Read out?" the author said, bemused.

"It's a long story," Mo said simply.

His tone indicated that the summary only skimmed the surface of his problem. Fenoglio took it at face value. She motioned toward Harry, figuring that it would be a good idea to confirm their earlier point. Meggie offered him a reassuring nod.

"Ron, Hermione, and I had just met up with Neville –" Harry started to say, being cut off.

"You've got a scar, haven't you?" the author brazenly interrupted. "Two, technically. I may be convinced wholeheartedly if you show me your forehead and the back of your hand."

Harry pushed back his hair out of routine, allowing Fenoglio and his granddaughter to gaze upon the lightening-shaped scar in the center of his forehead. The scar from Umbridge's punishment was less noticeable but one could distinguish the words "I must not tell lies" if he clenched a fist tightly. Fenoglio was indeed convinced that this was the real, albeit fictional, Harry Potter, but his hunger was not satiated. He hungered for a glimpse of Dustfinger.

"I admit that this is a rather surreal experience, meeting a storybook character," Fenoglio began. Mo feared the look on his face. "But you must understand my desire to see my creation! I want to see Dustfinger."

It was just as he feared! Mo liked Dustfinger and pitied him; under different circumstances, they might have been friends. Despite Dustfinger's earlier betrayal, he knew it was out of desperation. Then again, Mo was going to give up Dustfinger for the same reason. Persuading Dustfinger to stay would help Mo acquire _Inkheart _without resistance, as well as saving his life. If anyone could persuade him, it would be the author who penned him onto paper.

"You're going to break your promise, aren't you?" Meggie said.

Mo didn't look at her. "Signor, you should know why else I need _Inkheart_... they call me Silvertongue," Mo began, not needing to elaborate on the 'they' part. "I was reading to my wife, and little Meggie, one night. They just… appeared while Resa and a few of our cats disappeared. I managed to drive them away with a sword, but they have been searching for me since. Dustfinger in particular."

Fenoglio did not dispute his story, nor asked for the complete details. "Ah, I see," he replied, offering a remorseful glance. "I'm terribly sorry to hear that."

"It's worse for my father," Meggie interjected. "I don't remember her."

Mo gawked at her. Meggie was unfazed, but she felt the presence of Harry's hand hovering over hers.

"Understandable, as you were younger than my grandchildren, I presume," Fenoglio added. "Does Dustfinger have the scars still? The faeries treated them – no more than three faded lines now?"

Mo nodded.

"Basta fancied the same girl. Roxane was her name."

"Yes, I know."

"Would you let me see him? I don't even need to speak to him, only a glance. You can't imagine how I feel after hearing my words springing to life!"

"Because my father read him out," Meggie pointed out.

"Yes, but I'm entitled to see my very creation!"

"Who you killed off."

"As you know. But don't you like exciting stories?"

"I like happy endings!"

"Life isn't full of happy endings or fairness. I implore you to let me see him!"

Mo intervened. "I'll think about it."

Fenoglio gave him a gratuitous nod. A convenient crash upstairs allowed the three to be alone while the author checked on his grandchildren.

"I think," Mo started to say, "I have to break my promise."

Meggie and Harry exchanged looks. "Dustfinger has a right to know," she remarked.

"And who better to warn him than Fenoglio."

"I think you shouldn't let him speak, just watch."

"Perhaps it might be for the better."

They fell silent.

"Would you do the same courtesy for me?" Harry asked, suddenly.

Meggie bit her lip. "Are you sure you would want to know?" she inquired.

Harry nodded. "Has my life been all for naught? Did the culmination of seventeen years become wasted?" he said aloud, evident of deep thoughts.

"J.K. Rowling is no Fenoglio, Harry," Meggie noted. "She is not as cruel."

"So you're implying that there are deaths?"

"Some, yes, during the battle."

"What about Ron and Hermione?" At a whisper he added, "And Ginny?"

"All safe," Meggie replied, without hesitation.

"What about my fate? Are all the Horcruxes found?"

"Well-"

Fenoglio came back into the living room with a tearful Pippo and remorseful-looking Rico. "Dents in the cake and now foreheads!" he exclaimed. "Now, what did you decide?"

Meggie couldn't decide if the interruption was convenient or not.

"We'll take you to him, but we also decided that you shouldn't talk to him," Mo said.

"Fantastic! You've made an old man happy," the author exclaimed. "Oh! I've got it! I'll take my grandchildren with me – he won't suspect a thing!"

There was nothing to refute about the plan the author hatched. The only real danger was Dustfinger and his ignorance.

"Better get going, then!" Mo exclaimed.

Fenoglio rounded up Pippo, Rico, and Paula, all excited to go on a walk with their grandfather. They bounced around his legs with the energy of three excitable puppies. Mo, Meggie, and Harry led the way back to the car, and to her surprise, Harry did not ask about his fate again. It seemed to be the longest walk of Meggie's life, not unlike the walk from their wrecked car. It literally seemed like ages to reach Dustfinger and Farid.

They had sought shelter on part of the sidewalk enveloped in darkness and shielded from heat. Farid still had a look of admiration whenever he eyed the fire tamer, who seemed put-off by the attention. Dustfinger was the first to spot them.

"So?" he asked, hopeful.

"All his copies were stolen, presumably by Capricorn," Mo said, causing the fire tamer's face to contort in pain. He knew he wouldn't like the answer. But there was nothing to lie about when _Inkheart_ meant so much to them both.

Meggie could not help but give him a look of pity mixed with concern; her mind littered with the knowledge of his death by Fenoglio himself.

"Why are you looking at me like that, princess?" Dustfinger asked, bemused. His eyes widened. "You know, don't you? The author told you what happened to me?"

The realization hit him. "You told the author about me, Silvertongue! Curse it all! Your daughter knows more about it now. Tell me. Tell me how it happens. It's Basta, isn't it? Come to finish me off? He hangs me. Or stabs me. Some cruel act of his gets me. Out with it! But… it means I'm much safer in _Inkheart_ if Basta's here, right?" Dustfinger ranted. He took a step toward Mo, arms extended, as if he was going to shake the answer out of him.

Meggie stood between them. "Stop it! It's not Basta! One of Capricorn's men tries to hunt Gwin, and you die trying to save him! You should be glad you're here. You don't have to go back because it's safer here…" she trailed off, noticing Dustfinger tearing up.

A hot, angry tear rolled down the side of cheek. He wiped it away as quickly as it fell. This was his fate. It almost didn't come as a surprise. If he stayed away, to avoid his fate, he would lose out on returning to Roxane. It was proving to be too much for him.

He didn't know how to reply, instead following Mo's gaze to an elderly man and his three grandchildren. They were playing with a ball. Something about them didn't sit well with Dustfinger, nor did the look Silvertongue gave them. Sure enough, they began to head over as if on invisible cue. The man stared at him, more intently at his scars than the children around his feet.

"We heard you could do tricks with your marten and fire. We'd love to see them," the man said.

"You heard wrong," Dustfinger started to say, "No tricks here!"

The man reached up to touch his scars, completely transfixed by the fact that the fire tamer was _real_, so _tangible_, and in his grasp! Fenoglio almost felt sorry for sentencing him to death.

The sense of longing in the author's face caused Dustfinger to back away. "Go away!" he cried out.

Fenoglio reached out again, instinctively. "I just want to talk to you!" he said.

"I especially don't want to talk to _you_," Dustfinger replied, knowing that Mo had fully broken their promise. Like in other instances in his life, the best solution was to run away from his problems, as fast as his legs could take him. Silvertongue shouted after him, a futile effort to his chagrin. Farid took after the fire tamer as well. Meggie felt sad at his departure – she rather liked his company after all.

Nobody said a word at first. Mo engaged Fenoglio in conversation when they decided to turn back. The author made no acknowledgment of the encounter, not even in speech or betrayed emotions. Meggie felt guilty, but she talked to Harry to ease her mind. Deep down, she thought they all knew that it was going to happen that way.

When Mo inquired about a place to stay, Fenoglio's countenance brightened considerably. He offered them an apartment he sometimes rented out to tourists. Meggie was concerned about not leaving for Elinor's, but she had to admit that the housing was quite cozy. Fenoglio also invited them to dinner, along with the grandchildren, who had to receive permission from their mother. They returned with the good news.

Pippo and Rico pulled Harry away to play catch with them while Paula latched onto Meggie's hand and showed her the kittens playing in the grass. She glanced back at Mo, who was deep in conversation with the author. His expression was serious. Paula picked up a gray tabby and began telling her that this particular one was her favorite. After petting it and taking it into her arms, Meggie had to agree.

Fenoglio soon called them for dinner. Pasta with sage was served, a much better dish than what was served at Capricorn's village. The boys picked at the sage, much to the author's chagrin. Harry offered a distraction by allowing questions about his story.

"So what Harry Potter are you?" Fenoglio inquired.

"Before battle, I suppose," he replied. "Neville had just received us at the Hog's Head."

"I see. So that means you have to destroy more Horcruxes. Like the cup, diadem, Nagini, even -" Meggie coughed loudly.

"Drink some water, Meggie," Mo said.

"We don't even have the means to destroy the rest of the items. And the diadem… belongs to Ravenclaw… should talk to Luna about that…"

"Could you show us magic?" Paula asked, timidly.

"I would, if I could," Harry said, looking apologetic. "Capricorn took our wands."

Two and two made an epiphany. Meggie nearly spit out her water. "Harry! You need to get your wand back, well, Draco's technically, but still," she exclaimed. The hawthorn wand gave him its allegiance, and if they didn't get it back, there was no hope of defeating evil back in Harry's story.

He seemed to understand. "There's the problem of wand allegiance, right? And… I'm the master of the Elder Wand? When Draco disarmed Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower, and then when I disarmed him at Malfoy Manor?"

"Precisely, Mr. Potter," Fenoglio replied.

"We'll tell the others when we meet up again," Meggie added.

A few last questions ended the meal and sent the disappointed children back to their mother before it got dark. They thanked the author before retiring to the apartment.

There, Harry offered to take the loveseat and promptly fell asleep, without taking his glasses off. Mo shared the bed with Meggie, who could barely keep her own eyes open. He stroked her hair gently.

"You're not going back to the village, right Mo? We're going back to Elinor's?" Meggie asked.

"There's something I have to do first," Mo replied, much to Meggie's rising temper. "But we're not going back to the village. I promise."

"Good," she grumbled inaudibly.

Mo began to tell her a wonderful story to calm her down. She last remembered the part about the mermaids and sunken ship.

The next morning, she awoke to find Mo rushing around the apartment. She inquired about his pacing.

"I'm worried about Elinor. She hasn't answered her phone all day. I'm going to check on her – alone," Mo answered. "You and Harry stay with Fenoglio. Join him at the house."

"But –" Meggie protested.

"Meggie, please! I'm coming back. It's for your safety. Please do this for me."

She hated disobeying Mo, and this was a time she wasn't going to be difficult.

"Okay."

"Thanks, Meggie."

He kissed her forehead before rushing out the door. Meggie sighed.

She joined Fenoglio and Harry for tea as they waited for Mo to return. Fenoglio baked another cake for them to enjoy, with the chocolate chips this time.

"Oh!" Harry exclaimed, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out the DA coin, which was growing warmer by the minute. Squinting, he made out the message Hermione had sent.

"Beware Capricorn," he said, showing Meggie. "What do you reckon that means?"

Maybe they knew something they didn't. "Capricorn's probably still angry over us escaping. I don't know how close we are to the village, but we should be careful, anyway," she replied.

"Good idea. Hopefully Dustfinger and Farid will be alright too."

"Knowing Dustfinger, he will," Fenoglio said simply.

They enjoyed the tea and cake over much lighter conversation, but Meggie was constantly checking the door for Mo to reappear. When the doorbell actually rang, she bolted out of her chair. She could hear Pippo's voice on the other side, and hopefully that meant her father had arrived back.

She opened it, first smiling, and then gasping in horror. Basta and Flatnose greeted her at the door with creepy smirks and held Pippo tightly against his will.

"Your little friend here told us where you were," Basta said, causing Pippo to whimper. "Including Harry Potter."

"He told you wrong," she said, swallowing hard.

They pushed their way into Fenoglio's house. She was trapped.

"Thank you, boy," Basta said, releasing his grip on Pippo. He ran off. "So we meet again, Silvertongue's daughter. You have no idea how much Capricorn has missed you!"

"I can guess," she snapped back, pushing her fear away.

"Where's Silvertongue?" Flatnose asked.

"Out."

"Not very talkative, I see."

"Who's at the door, Meggie?"

Fenoglio was calling from the kitchen. Basta reached for Meggie's arm and dragged her along toward the voice. Harry and Fenoglio stiffened when the three entered; they were stunned at the intrusion. Fenoglio instantly recognized one of his prized villains.

"I think that's what Hermione meant, Harry," said Meggie, struggling under Basta's grip.

* * *

*Ginny's wand is unknown in the books, and according to the Celtic calendar, hazel would be the type of wood corresponding to her birthday (August).


End file.
